My team and I worked together to design a for-profit company that would take old plastic form landfills, hospitals, etc, sanitize it, and then turn that plastic into 3D printing materials. 3D printers would then be used on an industrial scale to produce long term use objects for consumers out of recycled plastics. This project was done as a part of the entrepreneurship program at the Eller College located within the University of Arizona and includes a full business model.

1. Bethanie Stephens
Human Nutrition
Arizona State University
Marcus Childs
Nutritional Science
University of Arizona
Lacy Stewart
Paleoanthropology and Polish
Arizona State University
Plastic With A Purpose
“Making Something Useless, Useful.”

2. The Problem
Hospitals around the world are major contributors to the waste
that gathers in our landfills.
Many amputees do not have access to affordable and proper fitting
prosthetics.
Problem Story Affected Population Solution FDA Target Population Value Assessment Model Expenses Pilot Outlook

3. Madison
“What do they expect
you to do? Nothing?”
Problem Story Affected Population Solution FDA Target Population Value Assessment Model Expenses Pilot Outlook

4. Affected Population
Medical waste and its disposal is a global problem.
United States
◦ Hospitals
◦ Amputees/Disabilities
Problem Story Affected Population Solution FDA Target Population Value Assessment Model Expenses Pilot Outlook

5. Solution
Collect cleaned and sorted plastic from MediWaste
Sterilize plastics to FDA regulations
Sort plastics out by density and type
Create 3D printer cartridges with recycled plastics
Faster than traditional method
Problem Story Affected Population Solution FDA Target Population Value Assessment Model Expenses Pilot Outlook

6. Solution Continued...
Collaborate with hospitals and other medical facilities serving
amputees and disabled persons.
3D scanning and printing technologies allow for limb replication.
Cost effective
Personal/ Customizable prosthetics
Can be more accessible to lower classes
Longer shelf life, less plastics into landfill
Problem Story Affected Population Solution FDA Target Population Value Assessment Model Expenses Pilot Outlook

7. FDA Regulations
Standards for repurposing:
• Primary Recycling: “scrap” meets existing standards from list of approved
sources
• Secondary Recycling: the physical act of reprocessing, the basic polymer is
not altered and contaminate levels must be sufficiently low, antioxidants or
processing aids may added to achieve this
• Chemical Reprocessing: regenerate plastic back to its original purity by
adding additional monomers and polymers as well as implementing steps such
as distillation, crystallization, and/or other chemical reactions
Problem Story Affected Population Solution FDA Target Population Value Assessment Model Expenses Pilot Outlook

8. Target Population
End Users Amputees
Customers Hospitals, Medical Facilities, and Patients
Stakeholders For: Recycling Plants, Conservation Programs, Tax Payers, and Hospitals
Against: Biomedical Suppliers
Problem Story Affected Population Solution FDA Target Population Value Assessment Model Expenses Pilot Outlook

9. Value of Industrial Benchmark
Social Value Ecological Value Economic Value
Ensures that
biohazardous or
ecologically harmful
products are disposed
of properly, gives
amputees a more cost
effective solution
Keeping pollutants out
of the air and ground,
reducing the carbon
footprint
Reduced cost for
customers as well as
increase efficiencies
Problem Story Affected Population Solution FDA Target Population Value Assessment Model Expenses Pilot Outlook

10. Assessment
We are going to collect plastic waste from MediWaste and then repurpose it at our facility to cut
costs.
MediWaste Plastic With A Purpose
Cleaning Waste
Sanitizing Waste (to FDA standards)
Preventing Waste in Landfills
Collecting Recyclables
Repurposing Recyclables
Problem Story Affected Population Solution FDA Target Population Value Assessment Model Expenses Pilot Outlook

11. Dr. John Jarred
Emergency
Medicine
Physician
Sirandon Reid
Biochemisty
and Molecular
Biophysicist
David Biffar
Simulations Lab
Director
Tim Snowball
Hospital
Waste
Management
Advisory Board
Problem Story Affected Population Solution FDA Target Population Value Assessment Model Expenses Pilot Outlook

12. Business Model
MediWaste
Collect
plastic
waste
Hospital
Provide
plastic
waste/
Connect with
patients
PWAP
Sanitize/
Repurpose
plastic
Patients
Purchase
Prosthetics
-Contributes Plastics
Indirectly
-Purchases
Prosthetics
-Sells Product and
Recommends New
Products
*Plastic with a Purpose (PWAP)
Problem Story Affected Population Solution FDA Target Population Value Assessment Model Expenses Pilot Outlook

13. Business Model Continued...
Hired
Professional
CEO
Bethanie
Stephens
COO
Lacy Stewart
CFO
Marcus Childs
PR
Head of
Production
Head of Hiring Head of Quality
Control
Technicians
Problem Story Affected Population Solution FDA Target Population Value Assessment Model Expenses Pilot Outlook

14. Expenses
Description Rate Cost $
Employee Salaries $78,000/Executives*3
$65,000/PR*1
$60,000/Department Heads*3
$50,000/Factory Workers*5
$80,000/Mechanical Engineer
$234,000
$65,000
$180,000
$250,000
$80,000
Rent, Site Utilities, Insurance, etc. $7.20 SF/YR*3,600 $150,000
Equipment (3D Printers, Autoclave
Machine, Materials, Semi-Trucks, etc.)
$300,000/3D Printer*2
$100,000/Autoclave
$100,000/Other (MediWaste materials)
$600,000
$100,000
$100,000
Lawyer $50,000 $50,000
First Year Estimated Total Cost:
$3,638,000/ Asking $4,000,000
Problem Story Affected Population Solution FDA Target Population Value Assessment Model Expenses Pilot Outlook

15. Pilot
Problem Story Affected Population Solution FDA Target Population Value Assessment Model Expenses Pilot Outlook
Medium sized warehouse located
in Tucson Arizona:
● Storage center for unsanitized
plastics
● Machinery to sanitize and melt
plastics
● 3D printers to print prosthetics
● Holding stations
Loading Dock
Product
Storage
Office
Space
Autoclave
3D Printer 3D Printer
Plastic
Waste
Sorting
Machines
*3,600 sq. ft.

16. Pilot Continued...
Tucson is an ideal warehouse location:
Large, open areas for expansion
Manufacturing area
Loading truck accessible
Low cost rent per square foot
Close in proximity to the UMC and TMC
Relative to Tuscon’s intrinsic culture of repurposing and recycling
Problem Story Affected Population Solution FDA Target Population Value Assessment Model Expenses Pilot Outlook

17. Outlook
Problem Story Affected Population Solution FDA Target Population Value Assessment Model Expenses Pilot Outlook
● 6 Months
❖ Have established
warehouse
production
❖ Begin networking and
advertising products
to major medical
facilities
● 1 Year
❖ Producing products
to select medical
facilities on a local
scale
❖ Strive to make a
profit on prosthetics
❖ Continue positive
growth
● 2 Years
❖ Begin larger scale
production
❖ Large customer pool,
especially to larger
facilities
❖ Increase in technicians
for prosthetic
production
● 3 Years
❖ Larger location for more
manufacturing of product
❖ Increased customer base
❖ Larger product output

18. Thank you! Questions?
Bethanie Stephens
Arizona State University
bethanie.stephens@asu.edu
Marcus Childs
University of Arizona
marcuschlds@gmail.com
Lacy Stewart
Arizona State University
llstewar@asu.edu

22. Plastic Separation Method
Sorting: plastics submerged in water, separated by density
Size reduction: cut into small flakes for cleaning
Washing separation: dirt and attachments cleaned off of flakes
Grinding: flakes ground into powder and used for printing

23. How 3D Printing Cartridges are Made...
Different printing methods, therefore different catridge types: (http://3dprinting.com/what-is-3d-printing/)
Material Jetting: Building material sprayed through nozzle and dried by a UV light. Almost any polymer can be used in it,
as well as metal, rubber, and glass (Objet500 Connet 1 Printer).
Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM): Nozzle melts plastic compounds and sprays them into layers and they cool. ABS and
PLA plastics typically used (most common plastics used industrially).
Materials Jetting FDM