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These kids are making sunglasses from river plastic trash

4 min read

Inspiring People
Source: wryuma.com

An experimental playground for kids in Antwerp has teamed up with a company who prints 3D sunglasses from plastic waste to create the world’s first sunglasses made from river trash.

3D printed sunglasses from river plastic

W.R.Yuma makes sunglasses from old fridges, car dashboards and soda bottles using 3D printing technology. They are constantly looking for creative ways to use new waste sources in their designs, and for their latest creation they teamed up with Stormkop, an experimental playground for children. They collected PET bottles from the river which runs through their home city Antwerp and turned it into a stylish limited collection of grown-up and kids sunglasses. They want to engage children with creative and hands-on solutions for our common waste problem.

World’s first sunglasses from river plastic These children collected discarded PET bottles from the river which runs through their home city of Antwerp and turned it into a stylish limited collection of grown-up and kids sunglasses. Source: Facebook/BrightVibes

An innovative and new l?k at waste

W.R.Yuma is a startup that makes sunglasses from old fridges, car dashboards and soda bottles using 3D printing technology. The sunglasses are designed and assembled by hand in Antwerp, using high quality Italian lenses with 100% UV protection. 

The company are constantly on the lookout for creative ways to use new waste sources in their designs. For their latest creation they teamed up with Stormkop, an experimental playground for children located in an old shipyard. 

The children collected discarded polyethylene (PET) bottles from the river which runs through their home city of Antwerp and turned it into a stylish limited collection of grown-up and kids sunglasses. 

A few times per week, the schoolkids go out and collect plastic waste on the river banks nearby. W.R.Yuma wants to engage young kids with creative and hands-on solutions for our common waste problem. 

It is the first time that river plastic has been used to make sunglasses with 3D printing technology. With this project W.R.Yuma wants to offer an innovative and new look at waste.

The collected PET bottles were thoroughly cleaned, shredded and converted into 3D printer ink with 50% river plastic. The sunglasses were then 3D printed locally; less than 1 km from where the plastic waste was collected. The kids sunglasses were assembled by the kids themselves, after which they could take them home.

The project is financially supported by the city of Antwerp.

Source: W.R.Yuma

With the river plastic that the kids collected W.R.Yuma started experimenting to see if they could turn it into new 3D printing ink. The plastic was cleaned, shredded in small pieces and melted into 3D printing filament (ink). With this filament they 3D printed a limited collection of kids sunglasses with 50% river plastic that they could assemble themselves and take home with them.
The kids’ sunglasses were assembled by the kids themselves and they could take them home With the river plastic that the kids collected W.R.Yuma started experimenting to see if they could turn it into new 3D printing ink. The plastic was cleaned, shredded in small pieces and melted into 3D printing filament (ink). With this filament they 3D printed a limited collection of kids sunglasses with 50% river plastic that they could assemble themselves and take home with them. Source: wryuma

Stormkop is an experimental playground for children to learn about the world they live in

STORMKOP is an adventurous place at the Antwerp Dry docks where the action is based on the ideas of children. Adult minds from the fields of art, philosophy and science bring their heads together in one place and encourage children to keep dreaming. 

At STORMKOP everyone plays a leading role. The focus is on 6 to 12 year olds, but family members, friends and other interested parties are also welcome. At STORMKOP, the quest for answers is as important as finding the answers themselves. STORMKOP is a place where kids have a unique experience with open arms, dirty knees, tousled hair and a warm heart.

W.R.Yuma is the first company in the world to use recycled plastics to 3D print eyewear. The sunglasses are made from locally recycled car dashboards, PET bottles and fridges. The sunglasses are designed, 3D printed and assembled by hand in Antwerp. 

Not for sale, at least not yet …

This collection of kids sunglasses from river plastic was a one-off experiment to see if W.R.Yuma could pull it off. 
If you are interested to know when they’ll launch the kids collection you can be the first to know by registering HERE.

This spring W.R.Yuma teamed up with the most enthusiastic kids to co-create world's first sunglasses from river plastic, 3D printed on the spot.
A different look at waste! This spring W.R.Yuma teamed up with the most enthusiastic kids to co-create world’s first sunglasses from river plastic, 3D printed on the spot. Source: WRYUMA

Closing loops again and again for a true circular economy

A circular economy is not just about recycling. It’s about closing loops and reusing materials, time and time again. That is why the company want your old W.R.YUMA sunglasses back. They recycle the parts and turn the frame again into 3D printing ink for new sunglasses.

Everybody wins: they get their precious materials back, and you get a thank-you discount in their store for your next pair of shades, and together everyone keeps plastic away from rivers and landfill.

We live in a take-make-and-waste consumer society. But we also live on planet earth where there is no such thing as waste. Since the very beginning of life, nature has continuously recycled all materials, again and again.

The circular economy already exists, we just need to make it ours. That is why W.R.Yuma start by making sunglasses from waste and recycling them again at their end-of-life.

Read here how they do this. Let’s make recycling great again.

For more on W.R.YUMA, to see their range of sunglasses, click here, and follow them on Facebook.

W.R.Yuma: it’s not waste until it’s wasted Closed loop and circular economy are phrases that spring to mind when talking about W.R. Yuma. 3D printed and assembled by hand for ultimate comfort and style, the sunglasses are designed for disassembly which means that they can be easily taken apart for recycling. Even the text on the temples is 3D printed from recycled fridges. Source: Kickstarter/WRYUMA
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