The world’s first plastic bicycle path made of recycled bottles, cups and packaging has opened in the Netherlands. The 30-meter path, made of recycled plastic equivalent to more than 218,000 plastic cups, is expected to be three times as durable as an asphalt alternative.
It also contains sensors to monitor the road’s performance, including its temperature, the number of bikes that pass over it and its ability to cope with the traffic. The prefabricated sections of cycle path are light and hollow making them easy to transport and 70% quicker to install. Cables and utility pipes are able to be easily fitted inside, and the path is designed to drain off rainwater.
Drink containers make up almost half the volume of litter in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. The state’s largest litter reduction scheme, Return and Earn, started on 1 December 2017 to help reduce more than 160 million drink containers being littered each year.
The key features of the scheme include:
Over a 20-year period the scheme is expected to result in:
Return and Earn is part of the NSW Government’s commitment to reducing litter volume in NSW by 40% by 2020.
Special ticket-vending machines have been installed over the last years in the subway stations of Beijing. As a way to raise awareness regarding plastic recycling, the machines accept used water bottles as payment. Once entered in the recycling machine, the bottles are first scanned so that their value is calculated depending on the plastics’ quality and number (the estimated value of each plastic bottle is between 5 and 15 cents). In return, the machine issues a public transportation credit or extra mobile phone minutes. Most of them are placed in high-traffic or touristy areas, such as the Temple of Heaven, which sees as many as 60,000 people pass by daily.
Ecobirdy targets school going children to make them more aware about how the use of common plastic toys can be harmful to the planet and how old plastic toys can be given life.
They have curated a storybook for this purpose which is read to the students and a large collection container is brought to the schools where the children and their parents are invited to bring their old and unused plastic toys to donate.
How do they keep them involved: Transparency of upcycling. All kids and parents are asked to leave their contact when bringing old toys. They receive an email as soon as their old toys is given a new life.
After the collection in schools, the plastic toys are unpacked and prepared in a sheltered workshop. The toys are checked to make sure there are no unwanted materials such as batteries and textiles. Following this, all plastic toys that can be recycled are put into a large container and transported to the professional recycling centre. By collaborating with a sheltered workshop, they strive to create social-added value.
The recycled plastic is used to create furniture for children which can be purchased from their website and is further recyclable.