Living and working in Africa changed Jasper Middendorp’s perspective. He saw how waste collectors lived, scraping by on meager wages.
“They got 15 cents for collecting 120 plastic bottles,” says the WeWork Metropool member.
As he thought about what he could do to help waste collectors, an idea came to mind. Why not use technology to convert this plastic into something productive? He envisioned a way to transform it into a filament for 3D printers that would be in demand for global markets, increasing the pay for waste collectors and bringing money back into local economies. That’s how Reflow was born.
Middendorp’s vision is to set up production centers in developing countries, giving jobs to workers and bolstering the economy. Reflow has already opened a small-scale manufacturing facility in Dar es Salaam, a city in Tanzania. It currently has the support of the World Bank and STICLab, a Tanzania-based technology center.
“3D printing has big potential in countries like Tanzania,” says Middendorp. “The country doesn’t have the capital to set up local printing productions and connect their products to nearby consumer markets.”
Reflow has also launched a Kickstarter campaign to help it move past the initial pilot program. The target is to raise at least $25,000.