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With our program, we want to promote a change in thinking along the lines of "waste is not an end product". We want to show especially school children that plastic waste can be seen as an opportunity rather than a problem.
To this purpose, we first give the participants a crash course with solid knowledge on the subject of plastics and recycling and then clarify "greenwashing" and misrepresentations on the Internet and in advertisements.
Starting as a small student start-up for recycled cell phone cases and keychains. Over time we have developed modular machines with which you are able to make your own filament (the "ink" for 3D printers, so to speak) from several materials.
While we sell high-quality recycled filament and granulate for further processing, we also sell the machines we use to make it by ourselves. This is how we are taking recycling, which was originally applied mainly in the industrial sector, to the local level as well.
Additionally, we ourselves are continuously researching recycling methods and the extrusion of plastic and share our know-how in public with the community.
Learn more about the tour
What to expect
First part - approx. 1,5 hours
At the beginning, we want to give the participants a guided tour of our production and provide a transparent insight into our company history, difficulties and problems.
How our 3D printers work & why the filament is needed
Preview from our shredder producing granulate
(note: participants can optionally bring their own bottle caps)
What the extrusion (melting down) of plastic can be used for
And more ...
Live insight into our filament production with explanation of the separate steps
How the bottle caps and industrial waste are being sorted
Presentation of our injection production and explanation of what injection moulding can be used for.
What the challenges of being a small mechanical engineering startup are
Second part - approx. 1 hours
After the guided tour, we then start with our actual workshop "Waste is not an end product".
If requested, we can also focus more on chemistry or society and politics or physics and mechanical engineering here.
Chemistry crash course
Crash course on plastics (polymer types, additives, melting temperatures, daily examples)
What currently happens to waste in Germany
Interactive guess & answer game on the topic of waste recycling in Germany
Types of recycling methods
Explanation about the 3 main recycling methods (thermal, mechanical and chemical recycling).
Complications with recycling
Insight into the challenges of plastic separation from an economic perspective
"Designend for Recycling"
How companies need to design their products to be fully recyclable and thereby help the environment.
The future of packaging
Explanation of the Circular Economy and what the future of sustainable packaging should look like
Who leads the workshops
The workshop will be guided by Milan von dem Bussche (founder and managing director of QiTech) along with Fabia Pohl (production manager at QiTech Industries).
Since we were students ourselves recently and are about to start our studies, we know how to make a tour, workshop exciting and interactive and how to make the topic of recycling interesting for the students.
Where you can find us
Since October 1, all workshops and guided tours have been taking place in our new factory building in Darmstadt, which is about 15 minutes away from the main train station.
Do you have questions about our workshops?
Contact us!