At the Eco-Friendly Circular Advanced Materials & Additive Manufacturing (E-CAM) Research lab at Ontario Tech University, we are addressing this challenge by converting post-consumer plastic waste into value-added products. Our approach involves reprocessing and enhancing waste plastics with proprietary low-carbon and carbon-negative additives and fillers, including agricultural waste, biomass, and recycled industrial by-products. This innovation transforms heterogeneous plastic waste streams into 3D printable materials with enhanced properties, eliminating the need for costly sorting and enabling the recycling of incompatible plastics.
Our research focuses on improving the mechanical, rheological, and thermal properties of recycled plastics, making them suitable for applications in packaging, 3D printing construction, and automotive industries. By using high-shear melt extrusion and proprietary additives, we overcome challenges like polymer degradation and incompatibility between different plastic types.
This presentation will showcase our sustainable, circular approach to transforming plastic waste into high-value, 3D-printable feedstocks. One promising application is in 3D-printed construction, where biofiller-reinforced recycled plastics can help address global housing shortages while mitigating plastic pollution.
Speaker: Dr. Ramona Fayazfar, Research Professor and CEO & Founder of ReEarthMater Inc, Western University, Ontario