• Avid Amoeba@lemmy.ca
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        19 hours ago

        How do printers create microplastics? I’d think they wouldn’t be significantly different than other ways of manufacturing plastic parts. Genuinely curious.

        • TurtlePower@lemm.ee
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          19 hours ago

          After printing you have to not only trim the extra bits, but you have to sand it down, whereas manufacturers use molds and only have to trim the seams.

          • Avid Amoeba@lemmy.ca
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            19 hours ago

            Ah so the finishing work. Makes sense.

            E: Reading about PLA specifically, it appears to be compostable. Also burning it doesn’t produce nasty byproducts. So perhaps 3D printing with PLA isn’t that bad, of one takes care of the excess.

            • DaGeek247@fedia.io
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              18 hours ago

              It’s compostable in the same way that taco bell is mexican food; you have to add a lot of qualifiers before anyone will agree with you.

              As far as regular people are concerned, pla isn’t being composted.