Mike and Aleksander met back in high school. They both graduated from High School No. 3 in Gdynia and, despite attending different universities after graduation, they stayed in touch.

From a problem to an idea

The pandemic was the event that prompted the school friends to re-join forces. Mike, Aleksander, and their colleagues  set up a 3D printer farm and produced protective helmets for healthcare employees. Students observed that even a relatively small set of machines contributes to the circulation of large amounts of plastic. They compared the scale of their actions to the world production of protective masks, which are used globally, discarded anywhere, and are not segregated. This observation inspired them to develop a device that could solve this problem.

This is how the design of the disinfecting and recycling device for used 3-ply protective masks was created, turning them into polymeric reusable plastic pellet — XTRUDE ZERO. The solution had to meet three key requirements: it had to be available, scalable, and fit into the concept of sustainable development.

The designers agreed that the device should be as simple to build as possible. XTRUDE ZERO employs design solutions familiar from vending machines for snack sales and plastic bottle recycling machines. As a result, the machine can be built using already existing, widely utilized infrastructure.

Export idea

Mike and Aleksander's idea gained popularity after winning the national edition of the James Dyson competition, but the students were seeking for more ways to spread the word about the initiative to other parts of the world. They were representing the Warsaw University of Technology in the Polish pavilion at the Dubai Expo. During the Polish Science Week, organized by the National Agency for Academic Exchange, they introduced the XTRUDE ZERO model to the public, and during their presentation, they outlined the scale of the problem and an idea for its solution to the gathered audience. They also used the visit to make contacts with people who may help them in implementing the project.

– One of the best things we got out of the EXPO was meeting new people. Interesting conversations with Tomasz Rożek, PhD, Yousif Eisa Bin Hassan Al-Sabri, former UAE ambassador to Poland, and the Vice President of EXPO 2020 all proved that if you put enough work and passion into your project, you can accomplish wonderful results – says Mike Ryan. – Discussions on our project not only shed new light on the problem of mask waste, but also gave further ideas for potential solutions — adds Aleksander Trakul.

Students got the opportunity to present a model of their device to the former United Arab Emirates ambassador to Poland

If you are interested in the idea of XTRUDE ZERO, please visit www.xtrudezero.pl and contact the creators of the project.