Recycled Park: The Floating Park Made Only from Plastic Waste

RECYCLED PARK

A floating park made of garbage. A real one. ecological island where waste isn't wasted, but becomes a mini-universe to protect flora and fauna. All thanks to a large group of young people. Rotterdam The Recycled Island Foundation has created, together with 25 partners, a public space, nicknamed Recycled Park, consisting of eight floating platforms and entirely made of plastic waste recycled, recovered from the Nieuwe Maas river.

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RECYCLED ISLAND FOUNDATION

The recycled plastic blocks were developed by the foundation with the contribution of students from several Dutch universities, including theUniversity of Rotterdam andWageningen University, which conduct effective research on recycling techniquesAlong the river, the guys from Recycled Island have set up some “traps” for collect waste, which are then transformed into platforms for the floating park.

The entire recovery operation focuses in particular on the river, because the collected waste is younger than other waterways and can therefore be easily transformed into platforms. According to a report by the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment, in addition 1000 cubic meters of plastic waste is transported every year along the Nieuwe Maas river and into the North Sea: the plastics come from landfills, agriculture, sewers and inland shipping.

TO KNOW MORE: PlasticRoad, the first road made from recycled plastic in the Netherlands (photos and video)

ECOLOGICAL ISLANDS

Le ecological islands However, they are not only designed to reduce theplastic pollution, but they also serve as a natural habitat. Plants grow both above and below the river's surface, providing a habitat that supports marine life and encouraging fish to spawn beneath the platforms themselves.

Now that this prototype park has opened, the Recycled Island Foundation is evaluating options for expanding it: its ultimate goal is to incorporate different types of aquatic platforms into the park“Recycled Park fosters an ecological mindset,” they explain. “The next step? Exploring the project in other cities.”

(Image and video credits: Facebook e Youtube)

GOOD IDEAS FOR RECYCLING WASTE OF ALL KINDS:

• With a little DIY, plastic bottles can be transformed into shoe racks and umbrella stands. They can also be used as wastebaskets for children's rooms (photo).
• Plastic at home: a machine that allows you to recycle it. A Dutch designer's invention (video)
• Creative recycling of plastic bottle caps: they can even be transformed into works of art (photo)
• Kids' Games: DIY Pinwheel Made from Recycled Plastic and Paper (Photos)
• DIY nativity scene made from recycled materials, from plastic bottles to polystyrene (photo)