Help Leigh set up a plastic recycling project

Hi, my name is Leigh Redding. I am from Yea in central Victoria. I am an outdoor adventurer and enthusiast. Realistically I just love spending my time outdoors; exploring nature. I love whitewater kayaking and surfing, climbing trees and rocks, and regularly I find myself camping by rivers, whittling spoons. For work, I am an outdoor educator, who takes young people on journey programs through some of Australia’s most beautiful landscapes and as a raft and hiking guide.

During my time exploring this beautiful country, I am constantly exposed to the impacts of our modern human activities, most regularly evident as plastic pollution. I collect rubbish as I float down rivers, often feeling a video game type of satisfaction as I stray from the main flow of the water to capture all the pieces of trash I can find. Unfortunately, when I get home I realise this trash I have collected isn’t treasure, and even though I have diverted this small amount of waste from our waterways and ocean I know it is most likely destined for landfill rather than a recycling facility that our council recycling bin system is designed for.

I want to change this and make a meaningful impact on this issue that is evident throughout our society. I have begun a plastic recycling project!

Check out www.natureeuphoria.com.au to see what's happening. I am building a series of machines that will shred waste/post-consumer waste plastic, then melt it into new and useful products, such as surfboard fins, bowls, hand planes and hand paddles (for body surfing and kayaking), plant potters and more. I have been guided by the work of Precious Plastics (https://preciousplastic.com/) check them out, to have a look into the world of meaningful plastic recycling.

Over the last year, I have invested money into and built a shredding machine that munches post-consumer waste into little plastic flakes. I have purchased and made moulds for surfboard fins, hand planes and large bowls that I will soon use to inject molten plastic into in order to create new products. I have also purchased and sourced most of the materials I need to build the injection machine.

With these last few steps coming together I will be processing waste and producing products in the near future, however, to complete the last phases and get this project off the ground I am in need of some support. Please, if you would like to see this project get up and running consider donating!

Over the last year, as a result of COVID, I have not been working much, which means I’ve been able to commit a lot of time to create this precious plastics project, but it also means the savings I have been investing in have been depleted.

Anyone who can chip in a few dollars I will be extremely grateful for your contribution! Anyone who supports me with $100 or more, I will return my gratitude with a gift.

If you donate:

$100 I will send you a choice of a set of surfboard fins, hand planes or a hexagonal bowl.

$200 you will be able to attend a workshop on how my plastic recycling workshop operates! Including a product, you create using recycled plastic.

Thank you for taking the time to read about my passion for making an impact on the plastic pollution crisis.

Leigh.