Michael Larson

Environmental sustainability is something we've always got to be thinking about during 3D printing. The obvious way to increase sustainability is to use recycled filaments.

While additive manufacturing reduces waste, it doesn't eliminate it altogether. There is still going to be some waste left over — if we can harness this waste to create new filament materials, this will go a long way to boosting sustainability.

But this assumes we're going to be reusing these materials indefinitely. Some additively manufactured material is still going to end up in refuse, so what do we do about this?

Biodegradable filaments are another option here. These filaments are not made using petrochemicals but instead bio-based compostable plastics. While we might lose a bit of product longevity, we could be significantly reducing environmental harm.

In reality, it's not going to be a case of biodegradable vs. recyclable filaments — it's going to be about using both and finding a balance between the two.