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In Germany, the Kunststoffschmiede plastic recycling workshop is using its machines to make 20,000 visors for the Dresden area. Plasticpreneur in Austria, which makes machines for the project, has also gone into mass production.

Greek company Alumoulds, which make moulds for Precious Plastic machines, is working with Precious Plastic Leman in Switzerland to make hands-free door handles.

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Recycling initiative Precious Plastic's open-source machines are being used to recycle plastic and turn it into face shields, respirator masks and hands-free door handles to fight coronavirus.

Designers and makers that use the Precious Plastic machines are repurposing them to make items needed by local health care workers.

Our most popular newsletter, formerly known as Dezeen Weekly, is sent every Tuesday and features a selection of the best reader comments and most talked-about stories. Plus occasional updates on Dezeen’s services and breaking news.

"However, as long as the items can be disinfected, I see no reason why they would need to be incinerated, and instead could be cleaned, shredded and recycled into one of Precious Plastics other opensource products."

Meanwhile, more than 70 constructors from China Railway 14th Bureau Group Corporation Limited are working at the construction site of the Chongqing Yangtze River Tunnel project in Southwest China's Chongqing with a total length of about 11.9 kilometers.

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As a key project of the Chongqing-Qianjiang section of a high-speed railway linking Chongqing and central China's Hunan province, the project is the first high-speed railway tunnel to cross the Yangtze River using the shield-tunneling method.

Shredder machines take sorted plastic waste and turn it back into useable flakes of plastic. Separate machines, including an injection moulder, an extruder or a rotation moulder, turn the flakes back into useful objects.

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News from Dezeen Events Guide, a listings guide covering the leading design-related events taking place around the world. Plus occasional updates and invitations to Dezeen events.

Precious Plastic La Safor and Precious Plastic Gran Canaria have been making and sharing designs for visors that sit on the forehead and hold plastic shields over the wearer's face.

The coronavirus can live on surfaces for days, and people can catch it by touching a door handle and then touching their mouth or eyes. Opening doors without hands helps prevent the spread of infection.

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In China, 3D printer company Creality 3D has designed and donated thousands of buckles that hold a face mask in place without hurting the wearer's ears.

Founded in 2014 by Dave Jakkens, Precious Plastic shares designs for its machines as open source, so anyone can design and build a recycling system.

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The Chinese economy has shown new vitality in different industries as companies sign new orders and staff members are busy at production lines.

"The injected items also benefit from not being porous like 3D printed counterparts, ensuring bacteria and viruses can't hide inside the plastic."

"No official body has approved our designs for medical use at this time, however, several hospitals around the world – including those in Spain – are currently using them," said Dickens.

"To make the items the plastic is heated to over 200 degrees Celsius which sterilises the plastic and it has previously been cleaned," he explained.

"The workspaces follow strict guidelines on how to maintain a clean working environment suitable for making the masks and storing them to avoid contamination," he added.

Groups in Germany, Spain, Greece, Austria and Switzerland are using the open-source machines, which shred and remould old plastic, to make face shields, masks for ventilators and handles that allow the user to open a door without touching it.

The numbers of national-level and provincial level "little giant" firms reached a respective of 3 and 34 in Liuyang High-tech Zone, with the total industrial output value of 74.33 billion yuan, an increase of 4.8 percent year-on-year.

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"A Precious Plastic workspace in Gran Canaria was requested to provide over 3,000 face visors for the government, hospitals and private sector," said Precious Plastics member Rory Dickens.

A "little giant" firm refers to novel and elite small and medium-sized enterprises that specialize in a niche market, boast cutting-edge technologies and show great potential.

These face shields protect the wearer from infectious droplets spattering on them and help keep their face masks dry. Medical-grade N95 or FFP2 masks must be replaced if they get wet, but are in short supply all over the world.

Other design teams responding to the PPE shortage include MIT in the US, where researchers have invented a flat-pack face shield that can be assembled from a single piece of plastic.

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Infection control guidelines mean PPE must be disposed of after use, Dickens said Precious Plastic could offer a way to recycle any discarded plastic.

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A company with about 200 staff members, covering an area of 50 mu (3.33 hectares) has just signed orders of 20 million yuan ($2.78 million) at Liuyang High-tech Zone in Changsha, Hunan province.

Their injection moulding machines can manufacture personal protective equipment (PPE) 75 times faster than a 3D printer explained Dickens, who co-founded UK nonprofit Recycle Rebuild.

Hospitals treating coronavirus patients need this emergency PPE to keep their staff safe, as medical workers are particularly vulnerable to being seriously infected.

Another auto parts making company of similar size in the zone, having 28 injection molding machines in continuous operation, is estimated to generate an output value of 140 million yuan in 2024.