Floating Park in Netherlands to Trap Plastic Junk from Reaching the Ocean

Published in Industry Leaders Magazine by Anna Domanska | Jul 09, 2014

As the plastic is trapped, architects plan to reuse it into building blocks for new floating parks in the river stream.

One of the greatest difficulties of cleaning up the billions of bits of plastic on the oceans is that those fragments are so little. Water bottles and plastic bags in the long run break apart into much smaller pieces that spread all through the water body in to a mess. While the perfect solution may be making sure that plastic makes it to recycling bins, or utilize fewer plastic items – an alternate methodology to improve work of getting plastic junk simply before it sways into the ocean.

In the Netherlands, an innovative project plans to a “plastic fisher” set up at the edge of a harbor to trap wrappers, plastic bottles, and other garbage as it floats by. The collection device glides in the water, with two folding arms that reach down several meters in order to catch the plastic junk. Since most sea plastic originates from urban drainage, the group behind the venture believes that the device can abate contamination in the North Sea.

As the plastic is trapped, architects plan to reuse it into building blocks for new floating parks in the river stream. “Industrialization has damaged the ecosystem in and around the water,” says Ramon Knoester, who is leading the project for Rotterdam-based WHIM Architecture. “With the floating parks we will reintroduce a surface for nature.”

The transposable plastic pieces condense into tiny platforms that can help trees, plants, and space for birds over the water, utilizing strategies like gardening on roofs. Under the water, the platforms will give shelter to fish, mussels, and water plants. “We want to take the pollution from the river and give something back in return to restore and rebuild the ecosystem,” Knoester says.

More platforms will be put by the shoreline to include new space for recreation. At this moment, a great part of the river stream is lined with stone walls and no parks or green space.

WHIM Architecture anticipates starting fishing for plastics this September. In the wake of exploring different avenues regarding the best solution for reusing the plastic and looking for additionally funding, the group also hopes strategize a plan to build a prototype model of the first park a year from now.