Our 3D printing activities, especially Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM), has revolutionized how we create from rapid prototyping to DIY hobbies to education. It empowers creativity and innovation like never before. But beneath the surface lies a growing problem that many in the maker community are just beginning to confront: Waste.
We need to be honest with ourselves, FDM 3D printing is a messy process. Failed prints, support structures, purge lines, rafts, miss-calibrations, and now the growing number of printing platform that offer on the fly material and color changes. … are all adding up. Great news for filament suppliers as we are reaching 180,000,000 kg of filament sales, but not so great for the environment.
With an estimated Annual Growth Rate of 31%, our activity is very quickly on its way to becoming one of the larger producer of plastic waste, as it is estimated that up to 24% of filament purchased ends up as scrap, and for many hobbyists and print farms, that number maybe even higher.
To demonstrate the growing issue and with a simple test. Using a latest generation printer with their Advanced Multimaterial System or AMS that allows up to 16 different FDM filament to be loaded and ready to print with the simple clicks of a mouse.
A single Toy Moose below using 3 of our new range of Color genPHA™ filaments.
We have a new print with in 4 hours, with apart weight of 40g.
But we actually generated more waste than the printed object or 52g of waste (56% of the total amount used).
So for our own sanity check, we re-did the test and optimized the print bed to 4 articles. While this did increase the print time to 14 hours, it also increases the amount of single color used before a change and purge is required.
The end results are better, but not great. This time around, we only generate 78g of waste for 166g of printed items. That is still 46% of plastic waste generated that now needs to be dealt with.
Now Prusa does offer a great solution to the problem via the XL model available with up to 5 print heads. But the price point reflects its true purpose as a semi-commercial R&D tool. Vs the average user benchtop unit costing less than $600.
When we consider that over 180,000 tons of filament are sold globally each year, the implications of an estimate 24% waste becomes staggering. (Source: https://3dprintingindustry.com).
180,000,000 kg @ 24% Waste = 43,200,000 kg of waste - scrape filament.
Multiply that by failed prints, non-functional prototypes, and unused test parts, and we’re looking at tens of thousands of tons of non-recyclable, non-compostable plastic waste often destined for landfills, incinerators, or worse, the environment if miss-managed. And yes most importantly and the reality it simply most current 3D filament available to the consumers are non-recyclable, no matter how big the chasing arrow happens to be listed on the packaging, or how green is the label on the spool packaging. They are simply non-recyclable.
The reasons why are many, but most importantly its simply due to economics. Recycled plastics have no value in the industrial recycling ecosystem, it isn’t an issue of technology or science. Its simply cost.
To their credit, many filament manufacturers have responded to this problem with so-called “eco-friendly” solutions plant-based plastics like PLA (polylactic acid) or claims of biodegradability. Unfortunately, this is where greenwashing and wishcycling creeps in.
PLA, for example, the most widely used FDM material in our industry, was and still is marketed as biodegradable or compostable. But in reality: Your PLA prints will not break down in home composting systems. Stephan Herman from the popular CNC Kitchen YouTube channel did a very good job documenting the issue at hand, and its well worth to re-watching.
PLA a plant derived biopolymer requires industrial composting conditions (high heat, controlled humidity, specific microbial activity as per ASTM6400) rarely available to the average consumer.
PLA is not marine-safe, and fragments of PLA have been shown to cause ecotoxic effects on aquatic organisms. There are plenty of reports and reviews on the subject, this latest one from Aquatic Toxicity once again highlights the issue at hand. Are polylactic acid (PLA) microplastics a risk to marine organisms?
It doesn’t biodegrade in landfills or soil. Worse, some brands label PLA as “recyclable,” but there are no widely available recycling streams for PLA in the municipal systems. This leads to wishcycling, consumers placing materials in the recycling bin that cannot be processed, contaminating recycling streams and adding frustration to the recycling community.
So What Can We Do? The first step is simply, do not discard of your prints or waste carelessly. “Mismanaged” plastics accounts for the growing number of material that end up washed away from rain fall into streams, lake and rivers and eventually end up in our ocean where it will inflict greater and lasting damage.
Please discard into the garbage bin, not the Blue (recycling) or Grey (composting) bins. They will not be recycled or composted, they simply will be separated and sent to the landfill. So please safe safe the work for the middle man and dispose accordingly.
Makers, educators, and hobbyists need to be honest about the environmental footprint of their prints. And we the industry needs better material solutions, ones that truly break down in real-world environments.
Enter PHA Filament: Or polyhydroxyalkanoate (say that three times in a row)
Yes it’s a mouth full. And the story of PHA is surprisingly natural, and kind of amazing. PHA was first discovered back in the 1920s by a French scientist.
And what he found was that some bacteria can actually make their own kind of plastic, using it as a way to store food for tough times, kind of like how bears store fat for hibernation.
These naturally occurring bacteria have been doing this for billions of years, way before humans ever thought of inventing the word “plastic” or “Print Wall generator in Arachne Mode".
PHAtty™ the happy Bacteria
What is the most important attribute of these bacteria is that they can turn just about any carbon-based waste from leftover food, cooking oil, sugar from crops, even gases like methane and CO₂ into PHA.
What PHAtty™ actually looks like without its make up.
This material is found in nature all around us. This makes this material not only natural, but also 100% sustainable. The commercial process to make PHA today is actually pretty similar to brewing beer. The bacteria are “fed” in large fermentation tanks, where they chow down on their favorite carbon-rich snacks with no competition or predators.
In just a couple of days, they start building up PHA inside their cells. Once they’re full (PHA can make up to 75% of their body weight), the material is harvested, cleaned, and turned into little plastic pellets ready to be used in things like our favorite brand of 3D PHA printing filament.
There is ongoing R&D work to create these PHA’s in cell-free processes, but that’s an entirely new topic. You can reach out OliveBio to learn more on the subject.
So why does it matter? FDM 3D printing activity in the US alone that accounts for 36% of the market* is estimated to add 1,500 tons of non-recyclable, non-compostable plastic to the waste stream this year alone, with a AGR of 31%.
The numbers that our hobby and business are contributing are simply become staggering very quickly, in the US alone we are looking at 21 million tons of filament wasted and that needs a proper EOL.
How Do I Print with PHA? genPHA™ brand of FDM filaments has been specifically engineered to support ease of print.
Unfortunately, none of the current popular slice programs offer drop in settings for PHA. There is exemption from the Bambu slicer, which does have a “Generic PHA”, but it is not recommended.
First let us look at the basic attributes.
As shown in the table above, PLA has a glass transition temperature (Tg) that is remarkably close to its softening point, which means it stays rigid until it reaches just above the Tg temp.
In contrast to many common FDM materials, PHA has a much lower glass transition temperature (Tg), which facilitates hydrolysis, the initial step in the biodegradation process. But more importantly, its softening temperature is close to PETG, making it well-suited for printed objects that may be exposed to moderate or elevated temperatures.
No this does not mean your 3D printed parts will degrade when exposed to temperatures that at or below Tg. Its simply means that if the material is exposed to high levels of bacteria activity, say a composting pile in your vegetal garden. As long as bacteria are active (up to 5c), they will consume the material. PLA on the other hand will require the material to be exposed to above 62c before bacteria can begin to break it down.
Our genPHA™ line of filament offers several practical advantages for users: No pre-drying required Unlike PLA, PETG, and most other FDM filaments. genPHA™ is not moisture-sensitive, making storage and printing easier and more reliable.
No heated bed necessary. Thanks to its low Tg, genPHA™ is to be printed without a heated build plate (could have used that 14 years ago on my PrintRBot), significantly reducing energy consumption, especially for high-volume print farms. In fact identical prints PHA vs PLA on identical printers will reduce power consumption by up to 82%.
Artme3D Motor Mount printed in Black genPHA filament.
While color options are currently limited for PHA filament brands such genPHA™, they are manufactured using only TÜV Austria-certified marine biodegradable materials.
The range of allowable pigments is highly restricted excluding heavy metals and limiting concentrations as to ensure compliance with strict ecotoxicity standards. So no, you will not see a glow-in-the-dark green PHA filament anytime soon and that’s a good thing.
Perhaps the most important distinction lies in the end-of-life (EOL) performance of PHA. Unlike PLA, which requires industrial composting or may persist in the environment, PHA is naturally broken down by bacteria and enzymes, without the need for high temperatures. It can biodegrade safely in soil, freshwater, marine environments, and even home composting systems. No special facilities required, your own backyard compost or garden bed is also a suitable option.
Just to be clear! No, it will not make your tomatoes grow bigger. And please, don’t feed it to your goldfish.
So lets Print Responsibly ™
Current material distribution in the US is with Polar Filament.
West3D will begin to carry their own line of product by end of August 2025.
And we are currently in trials with EU partners in Spain and Poland. Hoping to make an announcement very soon. Australia is also placing orders, 2026 we expect to have a local producer lined up using our compounded solutions.
To learn more about PHA's biomaterials: Visit www.gopha.org
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