A New Zealand design student is hoping to utilise 3D printing to help Samoa combat its problem with plastic waste.
Victoria University student Lionel Taito-Matamua with a 3D printer. Photo: Supplied / Lionel Taito-Matamua
Lionel Taito-Matamua, who studies design at Wellington's Victoria University, says when he attended his grandmother's funeral in Samoa he was shocked to see the sheer volume of waste in the country.
He says that inspired him to devote his Master's thesis to try and find a way to help Samoa make use of its waste plastic, by turning it into something useful and helping the environment.
He says that can be done with 3D printing.
"It sort of just came to me in terms of 'why can't we just get some waste plastics and potentially transform that into material that we can 3D print with'. So we found that the education system could benefit from 3D printing in terms of Pacific Island students being kinesthetic learners. So having something to touch."
Lionel Taito-Matamua's project has made him one of six finalists in two categories at the New Zealand Innovators Awards.
