The life cycle of plastic is now at the forefront of discussions and the topic concerns even Architects. Following China's ban on the import of waste, it is necessary to redefine the way this material is handled and to be repossessed by appropriate means of management. Based on Dave Hakkens’ Precious Plastic, the project attempts to explore whether it is possible, within the limits and capabilities of the city of Volos, to implement a recycling process of this type as well as to study the application of theory and design in practice and construction.
After the research concerning plastic as a material, its properties, the consequences of its use, the ways of its management and the observation regarding the frequency of its presence at the University of Volos, we attempted to construct a 1:1 scale injection machine, a machine that receives raw plastic material and produces objects giving new life and value to it. The development of the machine was based entirely on re-use of materials from local yards and was carried out in a machine shop in the area of Palaia. A series of experiments were conducted with different types of plastic to identify their behavior, and a mold was designed to produce as a final product a type of beam whose multiplication and modulation forms a range of objects with various uses.