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Fifteen years ago, Marius Smit had an idea that was so outlandish he called it his personal “man on the moon” mission: What if he collected plastic waste polluting the canals running through Amsterdam, Netherlands, recycled it and used the materials to build a boat? Smit eventually made his idea a reality and now has a fleet of nine boats navigating the waterways of Amsterdam, along with two boats in the nearby city of Rotterdam.
Smit first came up with the idea for Plastic Whale during a visit to Borneo. After a storm, the beach where he was staying became flooded with plastic, resulting in what is known as “plastic soup,” a toxic blend of plastics in various stages of decomposition ranging from full bottles to microscopic fragments created by years of exposure to sunlight and waves.
“That opened my eyes,” Smit says. “I wanted to do something [to address] the problem of plastic pollution, but when I came back home to Amsterdam, I didn’t know how to [get my idea off the ground].”
With a background in advertising, Smit did what he does best: He shared his idea with anyone who would listen. Soon other professionals around Holland began reaching out and asking him how they could get involved. Without having any previous experience in boating or recycling, he was grateful for the help.
“Within a few weeks of traveling around Holland, people wanted to help me by offering up their own expertise, from lawyers to accountants to recycling companies to boat builders,” Smit says.
To take his company from idea to reality, Smit borrowed some boats and invited friends to go plastic fishing on the canals of Amsterdam. In 2013, Plastic Whale debuted its first boat made using recycled content collected by volunteers, bringing the project full circle.
While much of the trash collected by Plastic Whale isn’t recyclable and goes directly to the dump, Smit and his team do recycle plastic water bottles. A local company turns the plastic into foam plates that become the core of Plastic Whale’s boats.
The annual plastic haul now outpaces the company’s need for boats, so Smit started looking for new products to create. “We... started working with a company that turns the plastic bottles into fibers that are made into felt, which [a local company uses to make our] Plastic Whale Circular Furniture,” he says. “We started selling the furniture in February of this year.”
Smit says more can be done to educate the public about plastic pollution. “The world’s waters are increasingly being polluted by plastic waste,” he says. “People need to be aware of the fact that there is a problem and a need to reduce our usage of plastics. It all starts with awareness.”

Mark ‘T’ if the statement is true, ‘F’ - if it is false.
1. A firsthand encounter with plastic waste inspired Mr. Smit to address the problem.
2. The phrase “man on the moon mission” highlights the novelty of Mr. Smit’s idea.
3. “Plastic soup” refers to plastics that have returned to a liquid state after years in a landfill.
4. According to Mr. Smit, Plastic Whale has solved the problem of plastic pollution.