Australia’s Centre for Advanced Design in Engineering Training at Deakin University is practicing an affordable way to increase the availability of potable (drinkable) water in needy areas of the world. The project involves collecting plastic garbage from around the Pacific Islands and turning it into pellets, which are then extruded as 3-D printer filament to make replacement plumbing parts, often in short supply in those locations. That effort is called 3D WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene), and the children’s charity Plan International Australia will be the first recipient.

This article appears in the January 2018 issue of Natural Awakenings.