From left: Metal Automotive teacher Jack van Ewijk, Tess Verheij of WasteFactory and MPC PBL/PKL department head Vital Carty with the extruder parts.
SOUTH REWARD–The Milton Peters College (MPC) PBL/PKL Department continues to make education as real-life and meaningful as possible. This year construction students built durable wastebaskets and high tables for the Heineken Regatta Village and wooden cabinets and tables that were sold in no time to MPC staffers.
In January the Metal Department welcomed a special request from WasteFactory to build one of the machines needed for plastic recycling. WasteFactory already had a shredder, creating flakes out of plastic waste and a compression oven, which heats the flakes to press them into moulds.
On its wish list the department still had an extrusion machine to create long plastic threads which can be used in 3-D printers or formed into fun objects such as fruit bowls and jewellery.
The Form 3 Metal students started enthusiastically with this assignment and were able to weld copper and some other essential parts. However, the electrical control box and main screw proved to be a bit too complicated for the students to assemble.
WasteFactory is looking for assistance to complete the machine and to purchase some moulds. Anyone in the community who can help is asked to contact WasteFactory/Tess Verheij, tel. 1-721-580-0462 or e-mail
wastefactorysintmaarten@gmail.com.
MPC and Sundial School will continue to support WasteFactory’s important recycling activities in the upcoming years by separating their waste on campus, enabling a new life for used soda cans and bottle tops in the Front Street art facility.
Several MPC and Sundial students visited the fun “Too cool to loot and litter” workshops supported by government and UNICEF at WasteFactory in May and more awareness raising activities will take place at school level in school year 2019-2020.
Although a complete ban on onetime plastics by the government is deemed instrumental in keeping the island and ocean beautiful and habitable, the schools will meanwhile focus on teaching youngsters the importance of reducing and re-using waste.
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/89046-mpc-metal-department-delivers-machine-parts-to-wastefactory
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