As the Ocean Cleanup Project readies its mighty floating barriers for collecting waste plastic from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a similarly green project much closer to its home has opened a floating park in Rotterdam's harbor. The Recycled Park features connected hexagonal blocks made from waste plastic.
The Recycled Park has been almost 5 years in the making – designing, recovering plastic and working it into something entirely new, raising funds and bringing the final pieces of the project puzzle together for the grand opening of the 140 m2 (1,500 ft2) installation on July 4.
Each of the park's 28 hexagonal blocks has been made from plastic waste recovered from the port and rivers, with Rotterdam serving as host to three strategically-placed passive plastic litter traps and scores of volunteers combing river banks for plastic marine waste. The idea being to stop plastic pollution before it gets to the seas or oceans.
The floating blocks were bolted together in a visually-pleasing pattern and moored in the harbor before being planted with greenery, or home to benches for visitors. The Recycled Park will not only contribute to the greening of the city, but will serve as a habitat for micro and macro fauna such as snails, flatworms, larvae, beetles, fish and birds. The video below has more on the project.
Sources: Recycled Park project, Recycled Island Foundation