Viewing 14 posts - 1 through 14 (of 14 total)
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  • #150348

    Kyle
    Participant

    So I was talking to some friends the other day… and the topic of conservation came up. It’s something I’ve struggled with personally as a resin caster for a few years now. Are plastics the devil? Should I just burn down my studio and live on a mountain? I dunno, maybe? Before I do though I thought maybe I could just try and get better at being better for the world. Then I thought of the industry as a whole, and like oh shit! we could all take this journey together! So let’s do it y’all! Let’s save the world! or like let’s try and see how we can improve or get more knowledgeable.

    I don’t want to sound like a Negative Nick here I just want to do what I can to try and keep our industry healthy and sustainable.

    Maybe we look around the house at our collections and think… shit. The world is fucked and the planet is melting and we’re all in love with plastic art? Well I’m not an expert on, well on anything really, but Ive done a tiny fractional tid-bit of research and I don’t think we should feel a crazy overwhelming sense of shame. Just our normal levels.

    So let’s discuss, let’s get a dialog going! Or I punch you. In the dick.

    #150351

    Kyle
    Participant

    I’ll start us off with what Im most familiar with, resin casting! So lets discuss ways to reduce waste or utilize more eco-friendly solutions. Ive got to be honest, I try and use as limited disposable crap as I can, but for the most part it’s because they cost money not because Im a fantastic person. My bottom line yo! Im talking plastic cups, wooden stir sticks that get coated in resin, gloves, paper towels etc,

    Ive found a couple better options that I can share here!
    Silicone cups. They’re not perfect but its a way better option than just tossing a plastic cup in the garbage every few uses.
    Silicone Cups!
    Silicone Stir Sticks and I don’t trust those brushes but I’ll give them a shot I suppose.
    Stir Sticks and Brushes

    Ive yet to find a good option for gloves or towels, once they get resin on them I haven’t found a way to clean them so if anyone has ideas I’m down.

    I also keep cured extra resin from the bottom of cups, clipped bits of sprues, off casts and any silicone in extra buckets on my work table. Just chop them up and throw them back in things. Reusing things for the win! Also not spending more money for the win!

    Also I want to have like three bins in the work space so you can separate garbage right then and there. We should check if the resin we use is recyclable! Is it? I have no idea. I’m gonna check right now. I couldn’t find the info. I’m gonna get back to you.

    I know this is like two things and its not super impressive but let’s add to the list, let’s get more tips and tricks and ideas and thoughts and feelings and hopefully… cake.

    #150504

    CrowPickle
    Participant

    A cool trick I learned from Derrick LaugLaug (@dllcustoms on instagram) is to create a dump mold for your leftover resin. This way you are getting as much resin as possible out of the mixing cups which makes them last longer, and you get another item to add to your stock! I sculpted my little logo and glued it to a jar lid for my dump mold. Works great so far!

    CrowPickle dump mold

    #150510

    Miss Muju
    Participant

    I’ve been using bio-resin for about 7 years now, and can definitely say I’m really happy I made the effort to keep using it. I’ve had to chase suppliers across Europe as different sources have folded. I hope there can be an increase in demand for this product in future, as it will help make it more accessible & hopefully bring the price down too!

    On the other points already mentioned, I use plastic jugs to mix my resin in. I’ve got lots of tiny molds around which I use up any leftovers with, to avoid resin waste. The plastic jug does slowly get coated in thin layers of resin, so every now & then I squeeze the jug and the resin interior skin comes away & can be removed. Usually a plastic resin pouring jug will last me at least a year before it breaks. Not brilliant, but it’s a start.

    I find mini silicone spatulas are the best for mixing resin. I can keep using them for years, as the dried resin on them can be peeled off afterwards.

    If anyone has any alternative ideas for gloves and towels I’d love to hear them… they are the items I throw away the most!

    #150519

    TTC Beard
    Keymaster

    Thanks @crowpickle & @missmuju for adding your thoughts to this great subject. I hope more come over to this topic and add their thoughts.


    @missmuju
    , would these work for gloves?

    https://www.glovesnstuff.com/ecotek-biodegradable-powerform-nitrile-gs6

    #150520

    TTC Beard
    Keymaster

    Thanks @crowpickle & @missmuju for adding your thoughts to this great subject. I hope more come over to this topic and add their thoughts.


    @missmuju
    , would these work for gloves?

    https://www.glovesnstuff.com/ecotek-biodegradable-powerform-nitrile-gs6

    #150521

    TTC Beard
    Keymaster

    Thanks @crowpickle & @missmuju for adding your thoughts to this great subject. I hope more come over to this topic and add their thoughts.


    @missmuju
    , would these work for gloves?

    https://www.glovesnstuff.com/ecotek-biodegradable-powerform-nitrile-gs6

    #150625

    Miss Muju
    Participant

    That biodegradable gloves link looks great… definitely worth trying out!

    Thanks – I’ll order some and see what they’re like 🙂

    #150697

    Madelon
    Participant

    Not toy related necessarily, but I have the same issue with 3D-printing. We have some of these at work and they’re really wonderful in teaching kids about designing, but the plastic… I’ve talked to several companies and they told me even so called bio-filament really has nothing natural about it as it couldn’t have the quality of regular filament if it was truly biodegradable or at least good/better for the environment than the regular filament.

    So when it comes to toys, phew. I have a lot of plastic haha. Some resin pieces too. If artists recycle as much as possible and companies use recycled stuff that’s an awesome start. With biodegradables I think everybody might end up with empty cabinets, but I’ve never looked into the subject so I can’t be too sure :P. Recycling seems an option though. As well as cutting out any disposables. But you do need to be creative as there don’t seem to be too many alternatives out there yet.

    #150710

    jrowe
    Participant

    This is a great post! I really appreciated the discussion on the Marsham Toy Hour. I have yet to try the bio-resin for casting my resin figures but try to reuse mixing cups and things as much as i can. My wife, kids and i eat a lot of yogurt and i’ve found the plastic cups great for mixing resin. And most of the time i can just peal the leftover resin (that didn’t make it in to the over mix dump mold) right out and it’s good to use again.

    Hoping this post grows and become a great resource for tips and tricks on reducing waste and being more sustainable.

    #155292

    Kevin Robbins
    Participant

    @missmuju I just happened to run into your episode on the Marsham Toy Hour and was going to reference your use of bio resin….for obvious reasons I won’t have to….it’s awesome to know this option exist.

    #155645

    Theresa Hawkins
    Participant

    I saw a post recently about art resin as an eco friendly option: https://www.instagram.com/p/B3jIYrHnQw_/

    #155653

    Mark-Anthony
    Participant

    Ecopoxy is supposed to be a good for the environment type of resin. I know art resin, the brand, is supposed to be just not as toxic but the cure time is quite long.

     

    Silicone mixing cups work well and are reusable. The dump mold for left over resin is a good idea. Or even a 2 part that gets filled over time with left over resin. I’ve seen some amazing jewel shaped pieces created with left overs.

    Did you know that Culture Hustle made biodegradable glitter?

    #193426

    Micah young
    Participant

    I can’t really say on this subject, I mean I love some of my pieces and they are plastic but my resin ones I cherish a lot more cause of it being resin but I’ve dropped some pieces that are resin and they have broken and I wished they wouldve been plastic haha but I see where it could be ruining the planet

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