Set up

Space, equipment and infrastructure

There are lots of ways to teach about plastic waste, and many lessons don’t need any equipment at all. But the best learning happens when it’s hands-on, especially when linked to a working waste management centre.

Here’s some useful infrastructure to think about:

Space for theory lessons
Computer, projector, and printer
Quiet area or meeting room
Blackboard or whiteboard for teaching

A training course at the Flipflopi in how to build a dhow from plastic

Practical plastic recycling

While theory is useful for sharing ideas, hands-on learning is the best way to help trainees really understand and remember things.

Recommended small-scale recycling machines:

Basic shredder – for shredding up to 50kg of plastic a day into small flakes
Bicycle shredder – pedal-powered and great for demos at events
Mini sheet press – for melting plastic and making small test items
Basic injector – hand-held tool for small batch production
Basic extruder – for making small products like plastic planks or filament

This small scale setup is very suitable for initial learning of the material and processes, as well as small scale production.

Semi-industrial recycling facility (EXTRA)

Washing line (in our case automated, up to 1000 kg/day)
Crusher: Processing around 1000 kg/day into big flakes
Agglomerator: Processing soft plastics into lumps
Extruder: Processing up to 400 kg/day into plastic lumber
Medium sheetpress: two units of 2x4ft sheetpresses for medium scale production as well as material research

These machines are not recommended for initial learning, but great for practical experience of larger industries.

This could be either part of your own facility, or you could partner up with an existing recycler to make sure the practical learning can take place.

Access to plastic material

You’ll need different types of plastic to show sorting and recycling methods.

You can collect plastic in many ways – ask your community to donate or sell it to you, set up regular collections from shops or hotels, or organise your own cleanups.

Read more about Collecting plastics.

Practical mould and product creation

Depending on what you want to make, you’ll need a workshop with tools for working with plastic. Basic carpentry tools are especially useful – they help you understand the material and can also be used to teach traditional carpentry skills with recycled plastic.

You’ll need:

Carpentry tools (like a saw, drill, planer, spokeshave, hammer, chisels)
Worktables – ideally one table for every 3-4 learners
Materials like cardboard, wood, and metal for simple mould making, plus basic tools like a grinder or welding machine for quick prototyping.

Community & network

If you’re based in one place and there’s a local group collecting or recycling waste, it’s useful to build a good relationship with them – you can learn a lot from their experience.