A floating city of half a million people on a gigantic plastic island is an idea which could soon be a reality if Dutch conservationists have their way. Recycled island is a plan to clean up 44 million kilos of plastic waste from part of the North Pacific, and to provide 10,000 square kilometres of sustainable living space. Solar and wave energy would provide power for islanders, while fishing and agriculture could provide their food.
According to Whim Architecture, which designed the concept, "The proposal has three main aims: cleaning our oceans, creating new land, and constructing a sustainable habitat." There is an estimated 100m tonnes of plastic waste in the Pacific. It covers an area one and half times the size of the U.S.A.
Because petroleum-based plastics are non-biodegradable, any plastic that enters the ocean stays there, breaking into smaller pieces until it is swallowed by marine life or left beaches. In a 1998 survey, 89% of the rubbish observed floating on the ocean surface in the North Pacific was plastic. In the Central Pacific Ocean, the Algalita Marine Research Foundation in 2002 found six kilos of plastic for every kilo of plankton near the surface. By 2008, that figure had risen to forty five to one. Birds eat the larger pieces which block their stomachs, while smaller pieces can cause fatal damage in fish.
Recycled lsland could be a unique opportunity to save marine life. The project's website states "Our ideal is to return more balance to the environment and set an example of how an environment-friendly habitat could be created.