Black spots on streets and sidewalks. We all know it's about chewing gum, invading public spaces. A small but increasingly "bulky" and difficult to dispose of waste. At least until now. In fact, GumPoint was born in Argentina, an initiative aimed at differentiating and recycling chewing gum to then use them as raw material for the production of shoes, tablets and smartphones.
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him
Spots black on streets and sidewalks. We all know that it is your shape of urethane da to chew, that invade public spaces. A small but increasingly "bulky" and difficult to dispose of waste. At least until now. In fact, it was born in Argentina GumPoint, an initiative aimed at differentiating and recycling i chewing gum to then use them as raw material for the production of shoes, tablets and smartphones.
GUMPoint is the first initiative ofLatin america aimed at recycling rubber, with the aim of transforming them into a range of new polymers for the production of plastics.
It is not the first nor the last case, but the novelty is that the chewing gum will have special baskets for the differentiated designed ad hoc. Similar to mailboxes, i Bins - this is their name - they can be installed in cities allowing you to collect chewing gum.
The Bins are also built with recycled material. It is easy to see them thanks to their bright pink color that is reminiscent of chewing gum. So they will certainly not go unnoticed in the middle of the urban landscape.
Once the bin is full, a specialized service collects the contents and the tires will undergo a unique recycling process to produce a wide range of new products.
A chimera? Far from it given that GumPoint is an entrepreneurial project that emerged in a graduate school of the University of San Andrés and carried out by four students. The latter worked for three months to transform the project into something attractive for entrepreneurs, crossing academic boundaries and reaching the real world.
“GUMPoint based its original idea on a true closed-loop recycling process. Our baskets, in a strategic position, allow the rubber to be intercepted before it reaches the ground, preventing it from damaging the image of the city and becoming sources of contamination " explains the team.
La transformation of the rubber to obtain the finished product includes various stages: they range from collection to storage, waste separation, cleaning and disinfection, sorting and pulverization, drying, extrusion and calendering. The final result are real pellets packaged in 5 pound plastic bags.
"We have found a new material that can transform into a large number of elements: design objects, rubber boots and sandals, cell phones, packaging and more".
The first products made with "recycled" tires will be able to be placed on the market in early months of 2016. Until then, GumPoint's goal will be to reach agreements with key public and private partners.
Francesca Mancuso
READ also:
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CHEWING-GUM ART: HOW TO TRANSFORM CHEWING GUMS INTO WORKS OF ART
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