MARIANA Islands Nature Alliance program manager Jolly Ann Cruz on Monday said MINA has four partner schools that can upcycle plastic into usable products.
Through MINA’s Schools for Environmental Conservation program, Dandan Middle School, Saipan International School, Northern Marianas Technical Institute, and Northern Marianas College all have a 3-in-1 Upcycling Machine on their campuses.
Cruz said Mount Carmel School, Saipan Community School, and Oleai Elementary School also have campus organizations that partner with MINA to collect plastic for the 3-in-1 Upcycling Machines.
San Vicente Parish is the latest community partner that collects plastics for the machines, Cruz added.
“It shows how much the people here want to do something about plastic waste on the island,” she said.
The 3-in-1 Upcycling Machine has three components: a shredder, an injection component, and an extruder. It comes to Saipan via MINA’s partnership with the Sea Monkey Project, a Malaysia-based company.
Cruz said the plastic goes into the shredder, and then is melted either in the injection component, or in the extruder, depending on the intended final product. Plastic can be shaped in a mold attached to the injection component or assembled into a new product as it comes out of the extruder.
Cruz said different products have already been manufactured on Saipan. These include upcycled rulers, bowls, fishing floats, plastic beads, plastic building blocks for children, and latte stone jewelry. All products were made using plastic that would have otherwise ended up in the garbage.
According to Cruz, the machines at NMTECH are the heavier duty versions of the units at the other partner schools. This gives NMTECH the ability to produce 1 sq. m. plastic sheets capable of being turned into tabletops or chairs.
Cruz said the 3-in-1 Machines ensure that plastics are used effectively.
“There’s this massive amount of imported plastic that the island needs, but now we’re thinking of the end of the life of it,” Cruz said. Plastics can take a thousand years to fully break down, but before they do so, they turn into microplastics that have the potential to enter the body, she added.
But Cruz doesn’t believe that plastics need to be eliminated from day to day life completely, saying it is important to prevent it from being disposed of improperly.
With the 3-in-1 Upcycling Machine, MINA, its partners, and the island can tackle plastic pollution, she said.
“Plastics are meant to be used again and again,” Cruz added. Because of their durability, it is important to recycle plastics into different products, she said.
The 3-in-1 Upcycling Machine
All products displayed here were made with plastics upcycled on Saipan. Note a ruler, bowl, latte stone jewelry and more.
NMTECH staff, MINA Rangers, and Sea Monkey Project staff pose with a 1mx1m plastic sheet made on Saipan.
Jolly Ann Cruz talks about the products made by the 3-in-1 Upcycling Machine.
