Consider this the only time heading home from a fishing trip with an armful of plastic is cause for celebration.
Plastic Whale is a Dutch “professional plastic fishing company,” the world’s first, which since 2011 has fished more than 100,000 plastic bottles from the canals of Amsterdam and the Rotterdam Harbor. It uses that waste as raw material to create foam plates, which are turn used to build new boats … in which more folks head out to retrieve more waste. If they’re not careful, they’ll soon be out out business.
On top of its clever waste-to-boat conversions, Plastic Whale has teamed up with furniture maker Vepa and design studio LAMA Concept to launch Circular Furniture, a collection of furniture made from Amsterdam Canal Plastic and billed for the office.
Each piece, fittingly, plays on the shapes and lines of whales: the grand table is based on a whale breaking the surface of water, the chairs mirror a tail, the lamps draw inspiration from skin barnacles and the acoustic panel tributes the whale’s signature bellow. Of course, the finished products relies on more than just rotting Coke bottles. Other materials used include metal beams, beech and oak.
Learn more about the production process here. Then start planning your next fishing trip.
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