After working for more than three years in the 3d printing industry, it got clear to me that certain things need to change. I have always admired the possibility to create complete new forms and structures with the goal of producing better and smarter products. I was impressed by the sustainable impact 3d printing could have with biopolymers, less material consumption or the ecological footprint of transportation.

But then I had to face reality: I saw how many of the failed prints were put every day into the rubbish container and were not recycled. Instead of teaching about the advantages of new biobased materials, 3d manufacturers were mainly fulfilling the demands of the industry who requested many of the fossilbased materials they have known already from traditional manufacturing.

After talking to customers and to people inside my company, I recognized that there are widely held misconceptions when it comes to biobased and recycled materials. Often they are perceived as not stable and not sufficient for industrial applications. But this is not true. Recycled materials often do convince with very good technical data and biobased doesn’t necessarily mean degradable but can bring very strong characteristics. We just have to look into nature to find some of the strongest materials on earth.

These misconceptions regarding biomaterials do not only exist in the 3d printing industry but are widely spread in society. Consumers and manufacturers are confused by many specific terms and a lack of clear labels which make it hard for them to take a conscious decision regarding sustainability.

It got clear to me that education around these topics are essential to drive demand and to achieve commitment. At the same time the challenges to achieve a circular economy are so huge that collaboration is needed. Therefore I created Circular 3d: sharing knowledge, enabling collaboration and facilitating action.