Rotterdam’s plastic bridges

Rotterdam is an example to the world in the search for green innovations. As a few months ago we noticed the news that would build roads and streets from recycled plastic, now we are not too surprised to find out that they use bridges and walkways made of fiber-reinforced plastic. They began to replace the old degraded steel and cement walkways with this material in 2009, and they already have about 90 plastic ones. It must be remembered that the Dutch city is crossed by a large river and many canals, and therefore has 850 bridges for pedestrians and cyclists.

How do you argue the commitment to this material? Plastic bridges are much easier to install, taking less than a day, compared to metal or wooden bridges, which take three weeks to build, he tells Fast Company City project manager Dave Geensen. In addition, the production of plastic consumes less energy than cement or steel. And additionally, reinforced polymer walkways have a useful life of one hundred years, instead of 25-30 years, thus reducing the need for repairs and replacements.

The advantages of betting on a less conventional material are clear, but despite everything, plastic is not a very ecologically “friendly” material, and neither does cement. Looking for better solutions, Geensen says they are looking into similar resin-based alternatives, saying “it’s only a matter of time before biological applications become the standard.”