To solve the problem of community waste and deforestation, a student at Brunel University in London has designed a compact press that turns plastic shopping bags into skateboards. 

  It is reported that this machine solves environmental problems while making skateboards less costly for children. 

  More than 300 million tons of plastic are produced globally each year, and while a large portion of it can be recycled, in most cases it is simply discarded. About 90 percent of discarded plastic goes into landfills, oceans, and residues in the stomachs of animals and the water supply of humans. 

  A student from BA's School of Industrial Design and Technology, Jason Knight, believes that if waste can be turned into something meaningful for young people, then recycling will not only bring tangible personal rewards, but will also improve the environment and turn into a fun and more engaging activity. 

  Traditional skateboard decks are made of plywood, most commonly found in Canadian maple trees, which is one of the biggest reasons for maple forest logging. Professional skateboarders can afford to replace dozens of decks each year, but the cost of replacing boards is prohibitive for younger skateboard fans. 

  Jason hopes that independent skateboard stores and other local businesses will eventually build their own recycling centers where people can use the machine to turn the scrap plastic they collect into treasure. The scrap plastic will gain new use and the personal cost of buying a new skateboard (usually around £40-60) will be reduced. 

  Two years ago he began experimenting with recycled plastic: after collecting bags of high-density polyethylene, he chopped it up and melted it at a high temperature. When the temperature increased to 130 degrees, the plastic began to become as tough and malleable as clay, and then they melt together the volume is reduced. At this point, constant pressure is applied and the molten plastic is molded into a solid object. In the process, air bubbles are removed and the plastic begins to transform into a new material with incredible strength and a glossy, marble-like surface. 

  As part of his course, during his one-year internship, Jason worked at DanisFabLab,FabLabRUC. After realizing that the most time consuming part was breaking plastic bags by hand, he developed a plastic shredder and exhibited the shredder at several music and art festivals in 2016. During that time he conducted a plastic recycling workshop, helping people who came to the festival to melt and cast plastic bags into rigid plastic bottle openers. 

  He designed an easy-to-use, compact and relatively inexpensive press and a series of stencils for his final year of college, and will exhibit them at Brunel's annual show June 15-18. 

  His plastic boards have been tried and tested by experienced skateboarders who commented, "Plastic boards are more flexible than wooden boards, and if you you find the trick, you can jump higher than a board and open up new stunts." Aesthetically, these skateboards "look incredible. "It's super cool that each board is unique, and riders can customize their boards with any color they like," added one user. 

  The press has been refined to a self-contained heat press with an internal safety light to protect users from burns and a simple heating mechanism that operates with a simple heating thermostat. 

  The press is made of steel with a total weight of 200kg, approximately 6ft x 6ft, and is equipped with an aluminum film on wheels. Before pressing the sheet, the inner surface of the mold is lubricated with a release agent so that there is as little resistance as possible to the diffusion of the molten plastic.
 
  Currently, it takes about two hours to heat the plastic needed for a skateboard, but Jason plans to continue refining his design to reduce the heating time. 

  "It has been shown that there is a positive correlation between those interested in skateboarding and those interested in sustainability. But there is also an outdated stigma that dates back to the origins of the skateboarding subculture, that skateboarding is a public nuisance," Jason explains. 

  "I hope this design will allow people to contribute to their local communities by collecting scraps that can be used to create something cool, which may help skateboarders who are disturbed by the stigma."