STANDARDS

CCSS: 7.G.B.5

TEKS: 7.11C

The Recycled Islands

Cover Images/Newscom

These floating islands are a cheerful pop of green in the harbor of Rotterdam, a city in the Netherlands. It’s a new park where visitors can enjoy nature. The park keeps growing as new floating platforms are added. But its islands aren’t made of concrete or wood: each one is made of trash!

The Recycled Island Foundation collects plastic trash like bottles and plastic bags, before it can reach the open ocean. They then transform the trash into hexagonal platforms of varying heights. Some have benches for visitors, while others are habitats for animals. Some will even have trees!

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