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DONT WASTE YOUR WASTE
WHAT WE DO
At JunkLabz we are working to make recycling more transparent, efficient, effective, and fun!
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We are Charlottesville, Virginia's ONLY recycling facility that carries out the entire recycling process under one roof. We collect, sort, shred, melt, mold, research, teach, and design in order to improve recycling!
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We now have partnered with 30 different UVA labs who are supplying us with clean #5 plastic in the form of pipette boxes an to date have shredded: 900 lbs* of this waste into material to be used for the fabrication of new products.
*updated 8/12
Transparency
We strive to share our process in a way that is easy to understand and helps to increase trust in recycling.
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We share our collection, processing, and safety data for accountability and progress hype!
Thoughtful Design
We work to make products that are built with their material properties and second life in mind.
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We create to make products that are needed and will divert waste from landfills for as long as possible, aiming to break the water bottle cycle.
Research Development
We work to identify and create processes to reduce, reuse, and recycle waste streams that currently head to landfills.
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Material testing allows us to ensure our recycled plastic is junk in spirit, not in material properties.
HOW CAN WE IMPROVE RECYCLING?
OUR PROCESS
Collection
The first step of our process is to collect plastic pipette tip boxes from labs in Charlottesville. We love working with the pipette boxes because they are all monotype (#5) plastic. Labs that work with us recieve one of our handmade collection bags and we meet up 1-2 times a month for collection!
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Sorting
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Our next step is sorting the pipette tip boxes by size shape and color. We have a few different color blends we seperate by and we have to make sure that the larger boxes are set aside for pre-shred crushing! During this step we also have to remove any stickers the pipette boxes have, ensureing the plastic is clean for the next steps!
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Crushing
This step is just for our big boxes! The bottom parts that make up the majority of the pipette tip boxes are a little hard for Tony Hawk (our shredder) to grab onto and break down, so we designed a pre-shredding system that breaks these parts down a bit before the shredding stage!
Shredding
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The next step in our process is shredding! Here we throw all the sorted plastic (one color at a time) into Tony Hawk, our shredder! The shredder breaks down the boxes into small shreds that can be made into new, durable products using our sheet press!
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Sheet Press
The sheet press process involves melting the shredded plastic flakes into durable, high-quality sheets. The sheets are strong, versatile material that can be used for durable, long-lasting products like furniture and art!
This step of the process has been the most fun and is continuing to grow everyday!
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ABOUT THE JUNKRATZ
We at Junklabz are passionate about "junk" and one of our main goals is to redefine how our community perceives waste.
In our linear economy, waste is consider an unavoidable outcome. This misconception is leading to material depletion, landfill abundance, and wasted money. We strive to show the community the value hidden in their waste in order to optimize our material use in production. Available recycling methods discourage users through ambiguous processing and limited visibility of results. We take pride in sharing our recycling journey to build trust with users and create end products with elevated value for community gain.
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With that being said... Meet the Team!
Interested in recycling? Trash? Design? Research? Social Media? Writing? Machinery? Furniture? Earth???