Is 3D Printing Good or Bad for the Environment?

Many people wonder whether 3D printing is good for the environment since it’s growing in popularity and becoming a key manufacturing method. This article will go through some relevant information and answer this question.

There’s more useful information that you’ll want to know so keep on reading to learn more.

Is 3D Printing Good or Bad for the Environment?

There are some aspects of 3D printing that is good for the environment while some that are bad. 3D printing is good at reusing materials when done correctly, and not producing as much waste as traditional manufacturing methods. This does depend on what people are 3D printing and what the project is.

To get a clearer idea of the environmental implications of 3D printing at home, I will go through some positive and some negative effects this process may have on the environment.

3D Printing Pros for the Environment

Waste is reduced by 3D printing items instead of buying them. Since standard production of items that people buy create waste, pollution from the transport and other environmental negatives, using 3D printing to create these items can reduce the demand for these products.

Once a 3D printer is in a location, it doesn’t require too much transport of items other than the filaments to a local area where it can be delivered from. Instead of purchasing many different objects and getting them transported, you’d just need the filament and a 3D printer.

You can replace parts by 3D printing them at home and reducing your carbon footprint, only requiring some electricity and filament. This not only saves duel and waste, but can also save you plenty of money in the long-run.

Another example is when your 3D print objects and adapt them to your needs rather than ordering something online and sending it back if it’s not the right size, which would result in more CO2 from the extra transport.

The other aspect is that some 3D printing materials are biodegradable, as opposed to mass-produced plastics.

This is another argument users have in favor of 3D printing. PLA, the most widely used filament, is essentially plant-based and also biodegradable under specific conditions. This represents a big point in favor of PLA as opposed to oil-based plastics.

Printing using recycled filaments is also a better option from an environmental point of view than buying new plastic items.

There are also many brands that offer eco-friendly materials as well and as 3D printing increases in popularity it can be expected that more such materials will appear. You can even recycle filament and create new spools.

Have a look at this video that discusses a way to rate your filaments based on how eco-friendly they are.

3D Printing Cons for the Environment

The 3D printers themselves, along with the filament does require shipping, but it will have less of an environmental impact overall if less shipping happens in the future as a result. You can reduce this impact by buying from local producers.

PLA is recyclable and biodegradable, but only under certain conditions. Many users don’t actually recycle their material so it doesn’t have as good of an impact as we might think.

Also, people usually mix their 3D print waste such as supports and rafts altogether, so it may make it harder to recycle effectively. It’s a good idea to separate out your filament so it can be properly re-used. You can even grind up the waste and create new filament with special tools.

If people in the 3D printing industry are better led on recycling their models in the proper fashion, we can reduce the negative environmental impact that 3D printing has.

I have seen movements in that direction, with manufacturers warming up to using cardboard spools and selling refills of filament.

One of the bigger issues we see in 3D printing is how many models are made just for fun that people will eventually throw away when they need more space.

When you buy a 3D printer, you want to get your money’s worth so people 3D print items that they don’t necessarily need or even want sometimes. This would have a negative impact on the environment since more plastic would go to landfills.

We can reduce this by 3D printing models that actually have a functional purpose or an aesthetic purpose for decorations that you intend to keep for a while. Also, instead of throwing these items away, you could try to sell them or donate them for someone else to use.

How Does 3D Printing Help the Environment?

3D printing can help the environment by reducing the purchases of new plastic items and replacement parts.

This can reduce the amount of plastic we use for packaging, as well as shipping costs, and reducing waste of items that you might have thrown away when one part is broken, that you can now 3D print yourself, rather than fully replacing it.