STUDENTS at a Forest school are able to go hands on with the latest in production technology thanks to a donation from a local company.
Forest MP Mark Harper officially unveiled the new 3D printer which has been presented to the Dean Academy in Lydney by technology firm Vision Petlon.
A 3D printer allows a phyical object to be constructed from a digital design.
Vision Petlon, which is based in Meads Lane, Lydney, is at the cutting of edge of plastics recycling
Managing director Gavin Rees said: "We are doing a lot of recovery work and we are making a lot of strange compounds Ââ?? for example we are taking plastic bottles and making them into printer cartridges for (computer giant) Hewlett Packard.
"We are looking at plastic banknotes to make plastic shovels."
He said the donation of the printer was part of the company’s commitment to work with the community.
"We hope to be able to offer facilities for children to come and look around and do some work experience."
He added: "Petlon has been around for many years. We have been on site in Lydney since 1978.
"We have a new lease of life after being bought by a company called Visionscape."
The Dubai-based company stepped in to rescue the Lydney firm last October, protecting 30 jobs.
Mr Harper praised Vision Petlon for supporting the school and for its work recycling plastics, particularly in developing countries.
He said: "I think we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that plastics are incredibly important and we don’t want to uninvent them because they do fantastic things.
"What we need to do is make sure we do not just chuck them away and wreck the environment which is why businesses that recycle and look at smart ways of using plastic are going to be incredibly important.
"We wan to work in developing countries to ensure that, as they get richer, they more quickly care about the environment than we did when we were getting richer. "There are many countries in the world with environmental concerns that you tend to think about when you are richer rather than when you are trying to turn your country around.
"The sort of thing that Vision Petlon is doing is really important."
Head of the Dean Academy’s design faculty, Andy Winstanley thanked Vision Petlon for its "cutting edge" donation.
He added: "We’ve had a number of students really engaging with it, inspiring them to get careers or degrees in engineering or product design."
Among the pupils Mr Harper spoke to was Year 10 student Chelsea Foot who told him her ambition is to design aircraft components for the Royal Air Force.
The Dean Academy’s head, Mr Tom Beveridge, thanked Vision Petlon for donating "an exciting piece of kit."
"We have made a point of protecting the arts, engineering and technology - we see it as critical for our area and for our young people to develop those skills. We hope this is the start of some really exciting work."