© WHIM architecture
Questions & answers May 2010
A brief overview of frequently asked questions:
1. When and where did you present this project?
Recycled island was presented online on www.recycledisland.com in December 2009. March 2010 the website was completely renewed to its current state. We will keep updating the website frequently with new information.
2. How much money do you need to construct an island like that?
The costs of Recycled island are not estimated yet. We are planning to make a cost overview in reference to the value of creating new land. But for now we still have a lot of research to do in the recycle options of the plastics.
3. In which point is the project now? Do you need people to help?
The project is in its concept phase. When we can present more precise details on how to construct the island, we hope to find investors. For now we are working on a small budget to continue our research. The most help we need now is in the knowledge and expertise of creating floating structures in the Pacific Ocean. Our team is already expanding rapidly.
4. Did you already begin the construction or is it only an idea till now?
The project is in its concept phase.
5. Which is the framework to finish it?
We are expecting to have more solid results within a year. So hopefully the beginning of 2011. Then we hope to present our first samples (prototype) of Recycled island.
6. How many plastic are you going to recycle?
All the plastics in the oceans should be taken out of the water because it is causing damage to the marine life and is also affecting our health, for example, when we eat fish. Unfortunately the plastics in the Ocean are fragmented into small pieces by the salt water and photodegredation. Capturing all these plastics from the Ocean will still be the most time consuming and complex problems for the island. Currently there is an estimate of 44 million kilo of plastic waste in the Pacific ocean.
7. You said that the island will be auto-
The island will use natural resources to create a sustainable habitat. Solar and wave energy will be the sources for electricity. Seaweed cultivation and compost toilets will be used to make the island fertile.
8. The island will be projected to be a new habitat, how do you imagine this place? There will be urban places? Which place in our world could be a reference? Could you describe the design of the urban setting?
The habitable area is designed as an urban setting. Nowadays already half of the
World population lives in urban conditions, which has a huge impact on nature. The
realization of mixed-
9. The recycled island will be the coverage of 10.000 km2. What is the maximum population that the island could accommodate?
If we are able to realize the footprint of 10.000 km2, which really depends on the amount of plastic waste, the population of Recycled island should become about half a million inhabitants.
10. How long do you believe it takes the recycled island to be built?
Recycled island should be constructed from all the plastic waste in the Ocean. We
want to recycle the plastic on the spot, the North Pacific Gyre, where the concentration
of plastic pollution is the biggest. Here the plastic is recycled into hollow blocks,
that will have the floating character and will become the construction elements for
the island. Obtaining the plastic from the Ocean will be very time consuming and
could take years.
11. The project will be economically viable? How much it will cost? Do you have
already any country interested in constructing the recycled island?
Probably the island will not be economically viable. To obtain all the plastics from the Ocean is a process that could cost years of work, because of the huge Ocean surface the pollution is in. Then there is still the difficulty of getting the plastic from the Ocean without taking or damaging marine life. At this moment we are still looking for the easiest, cheapest and environment friendly way to do so. I don’t think you should see Recycled island as a profitable investment in terms of money. It is more that we really need to clean the Ocean from the plastic pollution because of the damage it causes to marine life. Fish mistake the plastic for food and as a result they get toxic into there system which are in and on the plastics. When humans eat the fish, this also has an effect on us.
Recycled island should be seen as an unique opportunity to create a new floating habitat from scratch yet at the same time the ocean is cleaned from a huge part of its plastic pollution. Cleaning the oceans from the plastic will be an expensive project. By realizing Recycled island you reduce the costs of long transport lines from bringing all the plastics back to land and at the same time you create new land that will again have an economic value.
Because we are still doing research on what to best recycle technique and the best way to retrieve the plastic from the ocean is, I can not tell you what the island will cost at this time.
The proposal for Recycled island was launched end of March 2010. Till now we have received a huge interest from the media worldwide, this pleases us a lot. So far no countries have shown their interest. In the meantime we will continue our research to find the best ways for the realization of Recycled island.
12. The fact that the island will be constructed of plastic in the middle of the Pacific Ocean can bring any impact to the environment?
The current plastic pollution of the Ocean has a very negative affect on the environment. We want to stop this or at least reduce this with Recycled island. The project should be carried out with great care so no negative influence to the environment is made. Our ideal is to return more balance to the environment and set an example how an environment friendly habitat could be created.