Two young engineers have found an opportunity amid a collapsing economy in Venezuela – inside a garbage dump full of broken electronic hardware.
They are melting the plastic waste down and feeding it through 3D printers to make intricate pieces such as car parts. These have become increasingly hard to obtain in Venezuela as dysfunctional currency controls restrict the import of basic materials.
Albermar Dominguez and John Naizzir produce only a kilogram of plastic printing filament a day, but they aim to help once-wealthy Venezuela’s vanishing manufacturing sector by making it cheaper for companies that depend on expensive imports.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-plastic/venezuelan-engineers-turn-plastic-trash-into-car-parts-amid-crisis-idUSKBN1K81UH