Backyard plastic recycling plants could be step closer to reality, with a group of Monash University engineering students creating a portable unit that can fit on the back of a ute.

Key points: Monash University engineering students made a mini-recycling plant as part of the global Precious Plastic initiative

Monash University engineering students made a mini-recycling plant as part of the global Precious Plastic initiative The portable unit can fit on the back of a ute and may be toured around schools and workplaces to raise awareness

The portable unit can fit on the back of a ute and may be toured around schools and workplaces to raise awareness The plastic waste can be made into phone cases, bottles, bowls or even structural beams

Bottles, containers, trays and plastic bags can be broken down by the machine and transformed into anything that can be made in a mould, including phone cases, bowls and even structural beams.

"It would be the dream for everyone to be able to recycle their own plastic and reduce our waste," project materials manager Gabi Newman said.

The engineering students took on the challenge of making a mini-recycling unit as part of the global Precious Plastic initiative, an open-sourced recycling project which allows anyone to create their own plastic recycling facility.

The old plastic can be melted and transformed into items like bowls. ( ABC News: Madeleine Morris )

The United Nations last year warned that unless people changed their habits, there would be more plastic than fish, by weight, in the world's oceans by 2050.

The Monash team wanted to make a portable plant that could be toured around schools and workplaces to raise awareness of how easy and important it is to recycle plastic.

"In schools they could have this machine and students could make their own rulers. In offices, for example, they could make their own plastic paper clips," project manager Joel Ibrahim said.

Comprised of four small machines, the unit first shreds hard plastic — such as flower pots and milk bottles — into pellets before they are melted down.

The melted plastic can then be passed through an extruder to make filament for 3D printers, a compressor to make objects such as bowls or structural beams, or an injector which squeezes plastic into moulds.

Plastic pellets are poured into a machine and are then melted for moulding. ( ABC News: Madeleine Morris )

"We can make any product pretty much that's made from a mould," Ms Newman said.

"So that means bowls, phone cases, we can even make gears. We've just found out we can laser cut, which unlocks numerous potential to make a whole range of products."

Monash University Dean of Engineering Elizabeth Croft said the project was a great example of how students could work towards solving real-world problems.

"All the daily products that use plastics, why can't we take the waste and turn it into things that are useable, structural things? Day-to-day use things," Professor Croft said.

The team, made up of undergraduate and masters students from a range of different engineering disciplines, will now continue to refine, test and professionalise the unit.

Gabi Newman hopes people will eventually be able to recycle at home. ( ABC News: Madeleine Morris )

But the main aim for the moment is to educate people about the ease and necessity of recycling plastic.

"The reason it's such a small unit is so we can pack it up and put it on a ute and transport to wherever we want," Ms Newman said.

A number of primary schools and companies have already contacted Monash to ask the team to exhibit their work.

"This is really much needed around the world, so we're really proud," product manager Anthony Ngo said.