(left) Obaggos, (right) plastic bags are compressed into small rigid discs. Photo: Chaiel Schaffel/WBZ NewsRadio
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Plastic bags aren't allowed in most recycling bins because they pose a threat to recycling plants by possibly getting tangled in the machinery that sorts the recyclables causing mechanical breakdowns and expensive repairs.
But a Melrose man has come up with a way to process plastic bags that can wind up in landfills and the environment in some cases harming, even killing wildlife such as birds and fish.
It's a machine called the 'Obaggo.'
David New said he came up with the idea after seeing how much plastic that doesn't get recycled adds up. "First you crush the plastic bags into a ball, try and squeeze a little air out of it, and put it all into any one bag," he said.
That gets placed inside the Obaggo.
The material is then compressed to the point that what comes out is a small hard disc made up of all that plastic material that was placed into the machine.
New said he hopes the Obaggo becomes so common that recycling plants will accept the discs eliminating a major source of plastic waste and diverting it from landfills and the environment.
New said so far, he's sold about 850 Obaggos.
WBZ NewsRadio's Chaiel Schaffel (@CSchaffelWBZ) reports.
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