In Rotterdam, a city on the Netherland's North Sea coast, there's a fascinating new public space made out of recycled materials for the residents to enjoy — and it's built over water.
Rotterdam's Floating Park — which is now open to visitors, though the park is just a prototype of what may become a much larger installation — is made out of plastic recycled from Rotterdam's waterways. The recycled plastic is constructed into hexagonal pods, which mimic the landscape of Rotterdam's Maas River before humans altered the landscape, according to the Recycled Island Foundation, the group behind the park.
The pods can be used to create gardens, as habitat for wildlife, or for chilling out, and they can be molded into different seating arrangements.The 1,500 square foot prototype park is an excellent spot to meet friends, soak in the sun, or just chill out.
The park is entirely constructed out of plastic waste and trash gathered by a team of volunteers and students over a year-and-half, according to the Recycled Island Foundation.
While the park is just a prototype, it's open to the public.
It's not just for humans, either. The Recycled Island Foundation says the park's plastic hexagons were designed to be prime habitat for native waterbirds, plants, fish, and even algae.
Along with creating a new habitat, the floating park includes litter traps that prevent further plastic waste from entering the ocean.
Here's how it works. Plastic is collected by litter traps deployed along the river. That plastic is processed into building material, which is then used to construct the park.
Here's to more cities take a closer look at how they can recycle their waste into beautiful public spaces.
Receive a single Whatsapp every morning with all our latest news: click here.
Also from Business Insider South Africa:
- Watch: Quadriplegic Capetonian learns to walk again thanks to a robotic suit
- The 18 biggest mistakes you can make on your tax return this year
- Netflix just took a jab at DStv in a new advert — here are 4 other times companies trolled each other
- Some food is getting cheaper - here are five products that cost less than a year ago
- Vodacom says its data was suddenly a lot cheaper in the last three months – and it is thrilled
- These are the new safety standards for private swimming pools – and a fence is no longer good enough