Rotterdams floatable greenspace has revolutionised the way we tackle plastic pollution and a lack of green space in our cities.

Around the globe as populations rise and urbanisation becomes more prevalent we are facing issues around an increase in pollution and lack of green space. Rotterdam a city located on the North sea’s coast in the Netherlands has a developed a system to tackle both problems.

Anyone that has visited Amsterdam or many other European cities will know that canals and rivers are often seen as valuable usable space from house boats to floating bars, however the concept of using this space as an extension of green space is something a little different.

This system first uses large traps in the waterways to catch plastic waste, this plastic waste is then melted down and molded into floatable pods that are then turned into parks, these parks contain not only spaces for people to chill out on the river, but also create vital habitats for animals as they mimic the local landscape of Rotterdam.

This system has only been implemented in one location as a prototype, however there is good chance we will see similar systems soon popping up all over Europe and possibly the world soon!

Read more about this here and here for some cool other ways cities are repurposing plastic waste!

Images courtesy of Recycled Island Foundation.