Searious Business wants to 3D print a sailboat from plastic waste

While 3D printing is shaking up many industries, it is also changing the way we use materials today. It is increasingly interesting to various companies and associations in terms of plastic waste recycling. These can be transformed to create new 3D printing materials and thus benefit from a significant added value such as Precious Plastic’s initiative. This is also the message that Searious Business, a Dutch association fighting against ocean pollution, is proposing through offering the 3D printing of a sailboat from plastic waste. A project that is still in its infancy for the moment but that could make things move. We met Andrew Hall who explained to us the genesis of this crazy adventure and the associated issues.

3DN : Can you present yourself and your link with 3D printing?

Hello, my name is Andrew Hall and I work as a Consultant helping Organisations, Leaders and Teams with change. Originally, I studies materials science and metallurgy. I’m a firm believer in the power of technology to solve the world’s problems and believe that by harnessing that with the power or of our human ingenuity we can achieve almost anything. 3D printing is one of the most exciting technological advances ever in materials processing. It has a great part to play in manufacturing and recycling. I also consider today’s rubbish tips to be the source of tomorrow’s raw materials. There is such great scope for progress.

Andrew Hall

3DN : How did the project of a 3D printed yacht come up?

The idea came about after my first meeting with Willemijn Peeters , Ocean Ambassador of the Netherlands and CEO of Searious Business. We quickly realized that Our oceans are in a serious mess. We humans, in our industrialized societies, treat them like of sewer of the earth. Through such wanton destruction, carelessness and pollution, we are poising the very cradle from which all of life on earth emerged. It seems that as land animals, we are largely unaware of the consequences of our actions. We see a relatively recent phenomenon, of non-degradable plastics which are added to the world’s oceans at a rate of 20,000 Kg per minute. These plastics in our waste are very harmful for sea-life. They find their way ultimately into the human food chain and directly cause lower fertility and many other health issues besides.