UPDATE – New River Boom Collects Over Half Ton of Plastic in Two Months
The Virilla River in Costa Rica, long plagued by plastic pollution, is witnessing a regeneration. This encouraging change comes courtesy of a strategic installation by the ‘Landscapes Without Plastic’ initiative, an enterprising collaboration between PEDREGAL SA, CRDC Global, Canal 7, OneSea, and UNDP.
Since its deployment on March 21, this inventive river boom has retrieved a staggering 536 kilograms of floating plastics from the river. Serving as a physical blockade, the boom gathers drifting plastic waste in the river current, which is then transferred to the CRDC Global facility at Pedregal for repurposing into RESIN8™, which is then used in various construction projects. This initiative is an excellent representation of the circular economy in action.
Once fully operational, the boom is projected to collect up to 80% of the floating waste generated by Costa Rica’s largest metropolitan area that ultimately ends up polluting the Pacific Coast. While a significant achievement, technological advancements like the river boom represent only part of the solution. All project partners recognize that, in parallel, it’s equally important to emphasize behaviors that prevent waste from entering our rivers in the first place.
