Port Waste Catch

Port Authority sets to work on ‘plastic soup’

More and more plastic waste is ending up in our oceans and seas. This is a major problem all over the world, including in our own port. The Port of Rotterdam Authority plans to invest in reducing this ‘plastic soup’. It has taken the initiative of asking the private sector to develop a system for removing plastic waste – particularly waste that is floating or suspended in water or airborne – from the port and port basins before it drifts out to sea. We will shortly be launching a pilot project in which we test a number of these systems at our port.

The Port Authority is also closely involved in the start-up accelerator Port XL. One of these start-ups has developed a dynamic collection system for plastic waste. We will also be testing this system.
The pilot project will run for approximately six months. It will give us a better idea of our options, after which we can decide on how we will be proceeding.

During the pilot project, we will also commission a study to determine where plastic ends up once it has entered the port area. Does it float further out to sea, does it accumulate in our port basins – or something in between?