New Litter Traps in Rotterdam Keilehaven and Schie,

the Netherlands

CLEAR RIVERS is happy to announce that Rotterdam has taken use of three Litter Traps that will retrieve marine litter in the Keilehaven and Schie. The installations are especially developed for this purpose and they prevent plastic litter from reaching the North Sea. The Litter Traps will be emptied weekly and the retrieved plastics will be used to create valuable and durable new products.

The Traps are placed at the Coolhaven, Delfshaven and Keilehaven and they are part of a broad approach to litter.

Plastic litter is a problem in open waters. Animals are affected by it and give a bad appearance. Via rivers, a large part of the litter ends up in Seas and Oceans, where it becomes part of the worldwide pollution. Plastic litter is a big contribution to microplastics in open water because larger objects get fragmented into smaller particles.

Alderman Arno Bonte (sustainability): “Our ambition is a plastic-free North Sea. That’s why we, together with our inhabitants and businesses, do our best to prevent litter from ending up in our rivers. Plastic that does reach the river should be taken out as soon as possible. In this way, we prevent the flow towards the sea. The Litter Traps will help us in doing so.”

More afford in the removal of marine litter is only a part of the solution. Prevention is better than cleaning. Making a connection with actions on land is a necessity. Also on this, we will work the coming period. The City of Rotterdam will soon define its strategy against marine litter. This strategy includes a broad approach to keep the rivers in Rotterdam clean.

Biodiversity

Marcel Belt of Delfland Water Authority: “Delfland works on clean, healthy, and living water. This is important for a healthy and comfortable living environment and for biodiversity. It requires a large effort and collaboration to reduce the amount of plastic litter in open waters. Initiatives as these are good first steps. We are therefore pleased to contribute to the Litter Traps in Rotterdam.”

Trail period

Earlier a trial period of one and a half years took place in Rotterdam, to test the systems.

Ramon Knoester of CLEAR RIVERS explains: “During this trial period we have been able to try out and optimize the installations. We explored what the best locations within the city could be. We are extremely proud of the result: a system that works effectively with intense shipping, tidal changes, and different wind directions. The Litter Traps capture the marine litter by using the water current and most common wind direction. The Litter Trap has already proven its effectiveness on several (inter)national locations. We expect to retrieve an average of 150kg of marine litter a month with these three Litter Traps. All the litter (not just plastics) is sorted to recycle as much as possible. Also organic material.”

Collaboration

The placement of the Litter Traps is possible through the collaboration of CLEAR RIVERS with the City of Rotterdam, Delfland Water Authority, Cargill, Rotterdam Circulair and Hebo Maritiemservice.

Below here a video of the launching event on March 17th, 2021, including interviews with Arno Bonte (Alderman for Sustainability), Marcel Belt (Water Board Authority) and Ramon Knoester (Founder of CLEAR RIVERS). 

Edited by Rotterdam Circulair.