“I was preparing to run a JavaScript Robotics workshop, when disaster struck the laser cutter at the local Hackerspace where I’d planned to have some acrylic parts for the robot chassis cut. The laser would be out of action for several weeks, and because I was running the workshop on a shoestring budget, I couldn’t afford to get the parts cut elsewhere.

Fortunately, I found an alternative at my local recycling co-operative: I realized that their assortment of plastic trays that had once packaged scientific equipment like mini test-tubes and micro-titration tips, were exactly the right size to snugly fit a pair of servos side-by-side that would drive the robot wheels. The grid of holes in the trays that held the scientific equipment could be used to push cable ties through to attach sensors, an Arduino, and a battery pack. And surprisingly, the trays came in a range of wonderful bright colors, including neon pink and orange.

With a bit of modification using a rotary tool and the addition of a few 3D printed parts, the recycled trays ended up being ideal bases for some quirky custom robots, and were an order of magnitude cheaper than the acrylic parts I had originally intended to have cut. I was glad to put materials to use that would otherwise have ended up in landfill. Now I supply recycled materials and repurposed industrial offcuts at all of my workshops.”