Introducing Recycl3D: Recycle Your Empty Spools & Failed Prints for OzFDM Store Credit

James H.

If you have been 3D printing for any amount of time, there is a good chance you already have a growing pile of empty spools sitting somewhere in the garage, workshop, or spare room. 

Next to them is usually another pile:

• Failed prints 
• Support material
• Old prototypes
• Calibration pieces
• Parts that almost worked but never quite made it to the final version.

The problem is that most of this material eventually ends up in landfill. In Australia, there still is not a simple or widely accessible way to recycle common 3D printing plastics like PLA, PETG, or ABS through standard kerbside recycling systems.

So we decided to do something about it.

We have partnered with Global3D to launch Recycl3D: a practical local recycling program that allows OzFDM customers to return empty spools and failed prints in exchange for OzFDM store credit.

How It Works

The process is intentionally simple. Bring your empty spools and failed prints into the Global3D workshop in Perth, and the material will be sorted and processed locally. For every empty spool returned, you will receive $0.10 OzFDM store credit added directly to your account. There is no minimum quantity, no booking system, and no complicated setup process. Simply drop the material off during normal workshop hours.

We also accept failed prints and scrap material, including:

• PLA
• PETG
• ABS
• ASA
• Nylon and PA based materials

All material is separated by type before processing to maintain consistency and print quality throughout the recycling workflow.

What Happens to the Material?

Once collected, the material is cleaned, sorted, and granulated at the Global3D workshop. From there, it is processed through Global3D’s Titan EXT1070 pellet extrusion system, where it can either be used directly for large format printing or blended into future recycled filament products.

A significant amount of development work has gone into making this process reliable. Recycled plastics can become extremely inconsistent if they are not handled correctly. Moisture contamination, colour mixing, thermal degradation, and inconsistent material sorting all have a major impact on the final print quality. Recycling filament properly involves far more than simply shredding prints and melting them back down.

Over the past year, Global3D has been refining the process internally through ongoing research and development focused on:

• material sorting systems
• drying procedures
• extrusion tuning
• contamination management
• recycled to virgin material blending ratios

The goal has always been producing recycled material that remains genuinely usable for real world printing applications rather than simply creating lower quality waste products.

Why We’re Doing It

Honestly, because the waste builds up incredibly fast. Anyone operating multiple printers already knows how quickly failed prints and empty spools accumulate, especially in:

• Schools
• Workshops
• Engineering environments
• Makerspaces
• Print farms

We wanted to create something practical and local rather than relying on complicated recycling systems where material gets transported interstate or overseas before processing. With Recycl3D, the material is processed right here in Perth and reused within the same local manufacturing ecosystem it came from.

The goal is simple:

• reduce landfill waste
• keep usable material circulating locally
• support a more sustainable Australian 3D printing industry
• make recycling genuinely accessible for the local maker community

A Little Back for Your Next Roll

The store credit side of the program is intentionally straightforward. Every returned spool earns credit towards your next OzFDM filament purchase, including future recycled filament ranges that eventually come out of the program itself.

It is not designed to become a major financial incentive. The idea is simply to give regular makers an easy way to recover a little value from material that would otherwise become waste. If you print regularly, those returned spools add up surprisingly quickly over time.

Getting Started

If you already have an OzFDM account, there is nothing extra you need to sign up for. Simply bring your material into the Global3D workshop, and the team will handle the rest.

For larger operations such as:

• Schools
• Universities
• Makerspaces
• Engineering labs
• Print farms

We can also organise ongoing collection arrangements, depending on volume and location. This is only the beginning of the program, but we are excited to finally offer a proper local recycling solution for the Perth 3D printing community and begin building a more circular future for filament waste.