Frequently asked questions
Plastic Fishing
Plastic fishing is an awesome group activity in which you fish for plastic on one of our Plastic Whale boats – made from Amsterdam’s canal plastic. After an inspiring pep talk about our mission from one of our skippers, everyone is handed their own fishing net to collect plastic and other waste from the water. Afterwards, the catch is reviewed and sorted and the boat with the most waste – and the person with the most unusual catch – gets a fun prize!
For starters: Amsterdam and Rotterdam are beautiful from the water. But more importantly: besides a lot of fun, as a team you will experience a memorable event with a social purpose. With nature as the big winner of this day! A few hours of plastic fishing with Plastic Whale is very inspiring and encourages others to join in. We guarantee that the whole team will remember this day with a positive feeling!
For sure! Companies often ask us to arrange volunteer hours for teams. You can book this in the same way as a plastic fishing team event. Feel free to contact us for more information.
We have Plastic Whale boats in Amsterdam and Rotterdam.
Within the area in which we fish for plastic, life jackets are not mandatory for children and adults over 12 years old. Life jackets are provided for children, for those over 12 years of age we will bring them on request.
We organize events for groups between 8 and 350 people. For large groups, we additionally charter third-party electric boats.
Yes, it is! A life jacket is required for children under the age of 12. We provide these on board. Upon request, we also bring life jackets for children and adults over that age who do not have a swimming certificate.
Plastic Whale BV is a social enterprise. We are an organisation with a social mission: plastic free land & sea, worldwide. We very much need the fee we ask for a plastic fishing event to pay for the costs of the event such as production, management and maintenance of the fleet, materials and of course the wages of the skippers. We also very much need this income to continue our mission and make more impact.
Our off-site caterer can provide drinks and snacks upon request. You can find all options for catering here.
We will, of course, provide all the materials for plastic fishing. You just need to make sure you arrive at the boarding location on time. Please leave valuables at home. If you do take them on board, it is at your own risk. Check the weather forecast to know what to wear, for example put on warm clothes if it is chilly. In case of rain, we will provide ponchos. And don’t forget to wear comfortable fishing clothes: fishing in heels is not a great idea 😉
We currently only offer plastic fishing events for companies and school groups. Of course, you can always participate in our big public plastic fishing events with your family and friends, such as the day after King’s Day and after the Canal Pride Parade.
At the moment we have 12 boats in Amsterdam and 2 in Rotterdam.
We collect anything that fits in a fishing net, except things that are biodegradable.
No matter if it is summer or winter, there is always trash and plastic floating in the water to keep our plastic fishers busy. Our skippers know the area like the back of their hand and know from experience which area is the best for plastic fishing. And of course, if there is a bit less to fish that day, we should see that as a positive thing!
The amount of plastic we collect from the water each day is never the same. It depends on the amount of plastic fishers, the weather conditions and if there are trash bags along the canals. To give you an idea: in an average year with 15.000 people on the water we fish about 50.000 PET bottles. And lots of kilos of other waste, of course!
We separate the plastic bottles from other waste. We collect the caps separately and use them in the floor of our boats and as labels for the Plastic Whale by Vepa chairs. The bottles are recycled into pellets and the pellets are made into PET foam boards and PET felt. Those foam boards form the base of our boats and of the Whale Boardroom Table, the felt is used for the Whale Boardroom Table, the chairs, the acoustic panels and in our lamps.
We toss glass in the glass container. We make sure the rest of the general waste is disposed of through the regular waste streams. In this way, we remove all waste from nature and ensure that as much as possible is brought into the recycling chain.
For companies, we charge €49 per person (including entertainment tax, excluding 21% VAT). A cruise takes 2.5 hours. From November to February, a cruise takes 2 hours and we serve hot drinks on board. The Foundation offers educational programs to children in group 7 and 8. They can go plastic fishing for free. We charge high school and college students a contribution of €30 per person (including entertainment tax, excluding 21% VAT).
We book the boats specifically for your group, so if you cancel we must charge the following percentage of the price: 30 days before the event: 0% of the total invoice 30 – 14 days before the event: 25% of the total invoice 14 – 7 days before the event: 50% of the total invoice < 7 days before the event: 100% of the invoice Canceling a plastic fishing event is always by mutual agreement. Cruises will always be scheduled, even in bad weather. When requesting to cancel a cruise during which there is no safety risk to passengers, the invoice must still be paid, according to the percentages as seen above.
No need to get nervous over the weather. Rain will not be a spoiler for this event! There are enough reusable rain ponchos for everyone on board. We have seen it many times before: during the biggest downpours the participants have even more fun fishing for plastic. In case of extremely bad weather (storm) we always try to find a new date for the plastic fishing event.
Let’s face it: you’re on the water and you’re dealing with trash. So don’t wear your nicest clothes. Keep an eye on the weather forecast and dress according to the conditions. In the summer, the cold is obviously not so bad, but in the winter we recommend putting on warm clothes. We also provide blankets to keep you warm. If it rains we provide ponchos on board.
The plastic problem has no seasons. That’s why you can fish for plastic with us all year round!
Are you excited about our mission and would you like to be a skipper at Plastic Whale? Then send us a message at people@plasticwhale.com.
Cleanup On The Spot
A Cleanup On The Spot is a Cleanup you do with your team, department or company. In your office surroundings, on the beach or in the park…. wherever you want! You can extend a Cleanup On The Spot with an additional program such as a presentation by our founder. But we can also organize an inspiring client event!
A few hours of Cleaning up with Plastic Whale is contagious and encourages others to join in. We can give you one guarantee: the whole team will have a positive feeling about this day and the Cleanup effect will last for a long time. In addition, as a company you also get an interesting insight into the waste problem in your (office) environment.
For sure! Companies often ask us to arrange volunteer hours for teams. Feel free to contact us for more information.
The choice is yours! You can of course do a Company Cleanup On The Spot in your own (office) environment. If you prefer to go to a nearby park or want to clean up the beach or the woods with your colleagues, that’s possible too.
We apply a minimum number of 30 people for a Company Cleanup On The Spot.
Plastic Whale BV is a social enterprise. We are an organisation with a social mission: plastic-free land & sea, worldwide. We very much need the fee we ask for a Cleanup On The Spot to pay for the costs of the event such as production, materials and employee wages. In addition, we very much need this income to continue our mission and make more impact.
We will drive our Cleanup Van to your chosen location and create a cool festival atmosphere with beach flags and all of the Cleanup materials. We start the event with an inspiring introduction from one of the Plastic Whale employees. With something delicious! This is then followed by an exciting quiz. Are you ready for it? Get to work! After an hour of Cleaning up we take a look at the loot and take a fun group photo. Last but not least: the award ceremony! The employee who performed best in the quiz and the one with the first full trash bingo card, wins a fantastic prize in addition to eternal glory!
In our brochure you can read everything at your own convenience. You can find the brochure here.
No worries! We will come to the location with our Cleanup Van and bring everything you need: three enthusiastic Plastic Whalers, beach flags, energy bars, smoothies, Cleanup materials, a sound system and the prizes for the winners of the competitions.
No worries! We will keep the PET bottles to use for new products. And of course we’ll make sure the rest of the general waste is disposed of through the regular waste streams.
Of course it will! No need to get nervous about the weather. Rain will not be a spoiler for this event! There are enough reusable rain ponchos for everyone. And we have seen it many times before: during the biggest downpours the participants may have even more fun.
Yes! You can submit a request via this contact form and we will get back to you soon with the options.
We separate the plastic bottles from other waste. We collect the caps separately and use them in the floor of our boats and as labels for the Plastic Whale by Vepa chairs. The bottles are recycled into pellets and the pellets are made into PET foam boards and PET felt. Those foam boards form the base of our boats and of the Whale Boardroom Table, the felt is used for the Whale Boardroom Table, the chairs, the acoustic panels and in our lamps.
We toss glass in the glass container. We make sure the rest of the general waste is disposed of through the regular waste streams. In this way, we remove all waste from nature and ensure that as much as possible is brought into the recycling chain.
For the production of this event we charge €49 per person (excluding 21% VAT, travel expenses and any necessary permits). A Company Cleanup On The Spot lasts approximately 2 hours.
We book the Company Cleanup On The Spot specifically for your group, so if you cancel we must charge the following percentage of the price: 30 days before the event: 0% of the total invoice 30 – 14 days before the event: 25% of the total invoice 14 – 7 days before the event: 50% of the total invoice < 7 days before the event: 100% of the invoice Canceling is always by mutual agreement. Cleanups will always be scheduled, even in bad weather. When requesting to cancel a Cleanup during which there is no safety risk to participants, the invoice must still be paid, according to the percentages as seen above.
Cleanup Online
For companies where it is a challenge to meet up in person for a team-building activity, we developed the Company Cleanup Online. With this activity, your organisation can dedicate itself to a plastic-free environment without physically getting together. Separately or in small groups, from home or office, anywhere in the world.
At some (large) companies it is not always possible to physically meet up for a team event. A Company Cleanup Online is something you do together, at different locations. This way you do something fun and something good with your colleagues! Last but not least, you will end the event together with a great feeling thanks to your contribution to a cleaner world, wherever you are. In addition, you will know a lot more about the global plastic soup problem and what you can do for a cleaner living and working environment. And a nice bonus: this Cleanup equals a good workout at the gym.
For sure! Companies often ask us to arrange volunteer hours for teams. Feel free to contact us for more information.
That’s up to you! You can do a Company Cleanup Online in your own (office) environment. At the same time, people in different places can participate in this Cleanup. Afterwards, you meet again online and we review the results.
As a company, you can do our online Cleanup program together from your home or office, anywhere in the world. Whether you have a company with 50 employees, or over 500.
Plastic Whale BV is a social enterprise. We are an organisation with a social mission: plastic-free land & sea, worldwide. We very much need the fee we ask for a Cleanup Online to pay for the costs of the event such as production, materials and employee wages. In addition, we very much need this income to continue our mission and make more impact.
In a Cleanup Online, participants receive a Cleanup Package with Cleanup materials by mail. They then participate in an online program and an outdoor Cleanup activity. In the online program, we introduce everyone to our mission and do an entertaining quiz. During the outdoor Cleanup, the teams challenge each other; whoever completes the first full trash bingo card and knows the most answers to the quiz wins a prize. And a nice bonus: this Cleanup equals a serious workout at the gym!
In the Cleanup Package you will find a participation guide, a Mini Waste Grabber, a recycled waste bag, a Tony’s Chocolate bar, a Trash Bingo card and a reusable bag.
For privacy reasons the packages are sent to your office. It is the responsibility of the organizer to distribute them to the people joining in the Cleanup. The packages fit in a normal letterbox and can be sent via ordinary mail.
In our brochure you can read everything at your own convenience. You can find the brochure here.
No worries! We will make sure enough Cleanup Packages are sent to the office for everyone.
Everyone should make sure they sort their own waste and dispose of it properly.
Yes! You can submit a request via this contact form and we will get back to you soon with the options.
You toss glass in the glass container, of course. Make sure the rest of the general waste is disposed of through the regular waste streams. In this way, you remove all waste from nature and ensure that as much as possible is brought into the recycling chain. We do not collect the plastic from you, for us it is most important that it is removed from nature!
For the production of this event, we charge €5 per person, with a minum of €500 (excluding 21% VAT). For a Cleanup Package, we charge €25 per person, including shipping (excluding 21% VAT). The Company Cleanup Online takes around 2.5 hours.
We book the Company Cleanup Online specifically for your group, so if you cancel we must charge the following percentage of the price: 30 days before the event: 0% of the total invoice 30 – 14 days before the event: 25% of the total invoice 14 – 7 days before the event: 50% of the total invoice < 7 days before the event: 100% of the invoice Canceling is always by mutual agreement. Cleanups will always be scheduled, even in bad weather. When requesting to cancel a Cleanup during which there is no safety risk to participants, the invoice must still be paid, according to the percentages as seen above.
Plastic Whale Foundation
Founder Marius Smit saw the plastic problem, during a trip around the world. The beautiful beaches covered in plastic made him realize it was time to take action. And the idea arose to build a boat from plastic waste. This was the beginning of the Plastic Whale Foundation in 2011.
The Plastic Whale Foundation engages as many children as possible in our mission by taking action with them for plastic free land & sea. With our positive free educational programs, children become aware of the growing problem of the plastic soup and we encourage them to take action. By ending the lessons with a free Cleanup around the school or on the canals in Amsterdam or Rotterdam, they experience how fun it is to start doing. Afterwards, their view of plastic has changed for good; they see the material as a valuable raw material from which beautiful new products can be made.
The Plastic Whale Foundation depends on grants and donations from both individuals and funds.
Awesome if you want to support our Foundation, we are super thankful for that! You can donate easily and safely through Donorbox on our website. You can also read more here about recurring donations and how you can support us if you are a company.
The Plastic Whale Foundation’s main target audience is group 7&8. We know from experience that children of this age are very open to positive behavior change because they are very curious and empathetic, with an open mind. For group 7&8 we have different educational programs, linked to a School Cleanup or plastic fishing in Amsterdam or Rotterdam. For groups 1 to 4, we have also developed an educational program linked to the children’s book ‘Superhelden in de Dop’. We created this book in collaboration with Buddy Vedder (text) and Rich Wake (illustrations). Click here for more information about our school programs.
Our School Cleanup is a unique educational program that allows you and your class to get started right away, anywhere in the Netherlands! The total program consists of 3 parts and takes about 1,5 to 2 hours. First you watch an online video lesson about the solutions to the problem of the plastic soup, then you do a Cleanup with the class for an hour in the surroundings of the school and afterwards you watch a follow-up video online.
First, you and your class watch a short video lesson, where we show you the causes, but more importantly some solutions to the problem of the plastic soup. Then you spend a fun hour with the class cleaning up the area around school, with our special School Cleanup package! When you are finished, you can watch a short video in class and discuss what you found and how you can contribute structurally to solutions for less plastic in nature. Download the teacher’s guide here for more information and click here to sign up right away!
The educational programs are free and so is the plastic fishing for grades 7 and 8. However, there is a certain limit to the number of classes we can take plastic fishing for free in a year. For secondary school and college students, we charge a fee of €30 (including entertainment tax, excluding 21% VAT) per person for plastic fishing.
Cool! We are happy to see how we can help you best. Please send an e-mail to press@plasticwhale.com so we can figure out how to answer your questions best.
Great that you are working on your own project! Because we are very focused on our wonderful mission, we have to see if it matches up first. We embrace everyone who is committed to a mission like ours. However, we do have a clear focus in how we work on that mission and involve others in it. We do not fund separate projects. We stay close to our core and cannot be distracted by projects that are too distant from our mission. If you fill out this form, we can read your idea and see if we can meet up.
Great that you want to help us with our mission: plastic free land & sea! Unfortunately we don’t have room for volunteers in our office at the moment, but we are very happy with anyone who wants to help us fish plastic out of the canals! If you are interested in becoming a skipper, please send an e-mail to people@plasticwhale.com.
Cool! You can find a lot of information on our website. We also have a great video on YouTube that can help you a lot. And don’t forget to follow us on Instagram and Facebook. We share a lot about what we do there, too!
Each year, one percent of the Coca-Cola Company’s previous year’s company earnings is invested in local communities through The Coca-Cola Foundation and The Coca-Cola Company. Plastic Whale Foundation is one these communities they support. Thanks to The Coca-Cola Foundation’s contribution, Plastic Whale Foundation has been able to receive a donation from the Coca-Cola Foundation for four consecutive years. The Plastic Whale Foundation has dedicated this donation to the development of the educational program. Coca-Cola has had no involvement in the execution of this. The Plastic Whale Foundation does account for the development within the status of the project and the use of the donation through periodic reports. You can read more about The Coca-Cola Foundation here.
Collaborations
Plastic Whale is an organization with a social mission: plastic free land & sea, worldwide! We want to achieve this by showing others that economic value can be created from plastic waste, by involving as many people and businesses as possible through our pillars: We Collect, We Create, We Educate. Plastic Whale is a private company (BV) and a seperate Foundation. We are committed to our mission by working with citizens, schools, businesses and government agencies to collect as much waste as possible from nature during super fun Cleanup events. From the collected plastic waste we create economic value to make cool new products, such as our sloops and the Plastic Whale by Vepa office furniture line. The Foundation develops educational programs for primary schools and organizes Cleanups for kids. Through creativity, positivity and commitment, we inspire others to take action for plastic free land & sea. With our sustainable business model we activate companies, large or small, to support our mission by participating in our activities, becoming a partner or buying our circular office furniture. Committing to a better, cleaner world is – if you ask us – a matter of doing. Stop talking! Let’s start doing!
A large global movement of doers who actively contribute to reducing the plastic problem on land & sea, returning collected plastic back into the supply chain. This changes their perception of plastic waste and its use forever.
The plastic soup is a growing, global problem. Our motto is: Stop talking! Let’s start doing! The world needs to take action now. Plastic waste is increasingly polluting the world’s waters, with serious consequences for animals, people and the environment. Up to 80 percent of all waste that ends up in the ocean is plastic. Each year, that’s more than 8 million tons. Animals in and around the water become entangled or suffocate in the plastic waste. In addition, plastic waste breaks down into very small particles (“microplastics”) that are swallowed by fish and other animals. This is how these particles end up in the food chain and we eventually serve it on our plates.
Plastic Whale is a private company (BV) and a separate Foundation. Through Plastic Whale BV we fish almost daily with citizens, companies and government agencies in Amsterdam and Rotterdam to remove as much waste, plastic and general waste, from the water as possible. We also do many Cleanups on land. Because so many people participate in these events, we raise a lot of awareness about the plastic soup. In 2022 alone, nearly 50.000 bottles were removed from the water. From the collected plastic we make cool new products, such as the boats we use to fish more plastic from the water, and the high-end office furniture we create with Vepa. We also organize school programs through our Foundation, and also with the Maritime Museum, to raise awareness among the adults of the future.
We organize about 500 events per year. Every week we go out on the canals with dozens (in summer even hundreds) of enthusiastic plastic fishers. We also organize Cleanups on land. And of course two public events a year, in which everyone can participate!
From the PET bottles, we have made 14 boats we use to fish for more plastic. 12 of these boats are in Amsterdam and 2 are in Rotterdam. We also created the Plastic Whale by Vepa furniture line in which PET bottles are used as raw material for designer office furniture.
Plastic Whale is a private company and a separate foundation. Plastic Whale Company organizes all company outings and events on land and water. With our partners we create new products such as our boats and office furniture in cooperation with Vepa. Through the Foundation we develop and organize our school programs.
We are a for-profit organization with a social purpose; together for plastic free land & sea, worldwide. Our social enterprise receives no funding, so we have to cover our costs with our own revenues. But we invest our entire revenue directly into our mission, so we can engage more and more people and increase our impact. We do this by organizing fun Cleanup events on water and on land, developing products but also by sharing our mission through communication.
We currently have 7 people working in our office. We also have a large skipper base of over 50 enthusiastic skippers who sail for Plastic Whale.
Whenever possible, we use sustainable alternatives. For example, our boats are powered electrically and we use green electricity. In our day-to-day organization, we always choose the most sustainable options.
Great that you want to be involved with Plastic Whale! To make sure the right person can be there to speak to you, it’s helpful if you e-mail contact@plasticwhale.com in advance.
Recycling deposits ensure that less bottles end up in the environment as litter, which is great! However, the introduction of deposits does not completely prevent plastic and other litter from ending up in the water. Even now, we still fish up a lot of deposit bottles and a lot of other litter. Even after the introduction of a deposit on cans in 2023, we will still have our hands (and nets) full cleaning the waters of Amsterdam and Rotterdam…. and the land of course! We think it is important to create social awareness of the plastic soup problem, especially by taking action together with citizens, companies and government authorities and by going plastic fishing and doing Cleanups with as many people as possible. We also create economic value from plastic waste on a local scale.
We wish! That would mean that our mission has succeeded, for we are fighting for plastic free land & sea. Deposits cannot prevent all the plastic from ending up in the water anyway. Besides plastic bottles, we also remove a lot of other plastic waste from the water. For example, plastic bags, plastic packaging, buckets, shoes and balloons.
We invest our entire revenue directly into our mission, so we can engage more and more people and increase our impact. We do this by organizing fun Cleanup events on water and on land, developing products but also by sharing our mission through communication.
For us, that is exactly where the challenge lies. The more big companies we can inspire to collaborate on solutions to tackle the plastic problem, the better. We want to work with big companies because ultimately they can make a lot of impact, by making small changes to their products, production process and their communication. With our model, we want to inspire companies that contributing to a better and cleaner world is actually good for their business. Through creativity, entrepreneurship, positivity and commitment, we want to convince them to take action. In addition, we believe that citizens, companies and government authorities have a shared responsibility when it comes to litter. We want to create a movement of people and organizations that want to move forward together. So we don’t want to point fingers and wait for each other. Above all, we want to take action. That’ s why our motto is “Stop talking. Let’s start doing.” We work from a basis of trust with our business partners, where our goal is to work with the partners to involve more and more internal and external stakeholders in sustainability goals, especially in the field of plastic waste. It is our experience and belief that our partners are intrinsically motivated to create positive change. At the same time, we also see that it is not always easy for those partners to fulfill their goals and intentions, as they are often dependent on different factors, such as suppliers, production processes, internal culture and expectations. By developing inspiring and practical cases with our partners, we believe we can change such internal and external factors. Of course, this will take some time. We see litter as a shared responsibility of citizens, companies and government authorities. So Plastic Whale does not want to point the finger at one or more organizations. We are working hard to make a concrete contribution to solving the problem and are extremely happy with the support we receive from all citizens, companies and government authorities involved. If a company goes plastic fishing with us with one or more teams, or buys our Plastic Whale by Vepa products to make their employees aware of the amount of waste that ends up in the water, we see that as very positive.
With our plastic fishing and Cleanup events, we not only remove plastic from nature, but also increase awareness about the plastic problem and create a sustainable change in behavior. For example, with the Plastic Whale Foundation, we also enable 3,000 school children to go plastic fishing or do a Cleanup every year. Children see up close how much waste ends up in the water and understand immediately that it does not belong there.
In 2022, we have:
1. removed 25.834 PET bottles and 6,530 bags of trash from nature
2. had 14.417 people on board to fish for plastic
3. had 1.331 people participate in a Cleanup on land
4. had 4.287 schoolchildren on board to fish for plastic or participate in a Cleanup, as part of a school program. Those kids collectively rescued 1.300 bags of trash from nature!
5. produced 10.196 pieces of circular furniture, together with Vepa
6. Since 2011, we have built 16 boats from plastic fished from Amsterdam’s canals
Cool that you want to partner up with Plastic Whale! Do you want to engage your employees, suppliers and customers in your company’s sustainability goals while supporting our mission? Plastic Whale offers several activities, services and even customized sponsorships and partnerships. Like a partnership package that includes having an awesome boat in our fleet with your branding. Or will we turn our gold from the canals into a great new product together? Let’s work together!
We do not sell our plastic. When we make new products from our plastic we always do so within a partnership. Partners always have a boat in our fleet. Let’s work together!
Plastic use
Boats
Around 5,000 PET bottles are used in a boat.
We separate the plastic bottles from the other waste. From the PET bottles we extract the caps which we then wash and use for the bottom of our boats. The bottles are recycled into pellets (granulate) and PET foam boards are made from the pellets. Those foam boards form the base of the hull of our boats. This is how we build boats from Amsterdam canal plastic!
Our sloops are electric.
No, unfortunately not yet. We have to use more traditional materials besides PET foam for the hardness of the boat. Unfortunately, due to permits, we cannot avoid that (yet).
This ban means that less disposable plastic will be used, which is great! It will take some time before you see the impact of such a measure reflected in nature. Therefore, it will not directly affect nature and Plastic Whale. However, we are big supporters of this ban. We find it super important to create more awareness for the plastic soup problem , especially by taking action together with citizens, businesses and governments. If there is ultimately less plastic for us to find, we are one step closer to our goal: plastic free land & sea. And that is only a positive thing!
We are always open to partnerships with interesting companies, with whom we can create new products that support our mission. Vepa is a good example of such a production partner because with them we create value from our plastic waste by making great products together. And that brings us much closer to our mission.
Plastic Whale by Vepa
Vepa is the Netherlands’ most sustainable office furniture manufacturer. The goal of waste-free production was already reached in 2018. They replace environmentally damaging raw materials with sustainable alternatives, manufacture under excellent working conditions, look for a new use for waste material and develop solutions for excess, broken or discarded furniture. This way they ensure that nothing ends up in the waste bin. For example, steel waste from the factory is transformed into cast iron chair bases for the Whale Tail chair, waste material from the upholstery shop is the raw material for acoustic partitions and wood is always PEFC or FSC certified.
Plastic Whale by Vepa is a collaboration between the companies Plastic Whale and Vepa. Plastic Whale provides the raw material for the furniture by fishing it out of Amsterdam’s canals itself, and office and project furniture manufacturer Vepa is responsible for the technical development, production and sales of Plastic Whale by Vepa.
The foundation of the entire collection is recycled PET: PET foam and PET felt. The whale was the inspiration for the collection. You can clearly see the bone structure in the table legs, which are made of European PEFC oak. In the tabletop you can see the whale’s blowhole, which is perfectly detailed through the use of pressed PET felt. PET felt can be used in many ways. The lamps and wall panels also consist mainly of recycled PET felt. The whale’s tail served as inspiration for the chair. You can see it clearly in the pressed PET back seat. The base is made of steel waste from Vepa’s factory. Of course, we use certified wood for the shell and chair legs. The seat of the chair also consists of recycled materials. The cushion is produced ecologically and after its end of life, the fabric is reused. For the seal on the chair we use plastic caps from the Amterdam canals. All parts can be separated and reused.
All numbers are based on 0.5 liter bottles with an average weight of 25 grams.
Whale Boardroom table: 1004 bottles
Whale Tail chair: 67 bottles
Barnacle lamp small: 8.3 bottles
Barnacle lamp tall : 16.6 bottles
Whale panel : 196.8 bottles
Yes, we fish the PET bottles which are needed for the production of Plastic Whale by Vepa from Amsterdam’s canals. The plastic bottles are processed into flakes. From PET flakes, granules (=base for PET foam) and fiber (=base for PET felt) can be made. These two materials are the main raw material for Plastic Whale by Vepa. The companies that process the PET bottles for us into granulate, PET foam and PET felt cannot guarantee at this time that we will get back all of our own PET, but at least we make sure that the amount of plastic bottles we deliver matches the amount of recycled material we use to produce Plastic Whale by Vepa.
Sales are done through the Vepa head office (Nicole van Leeuwen): +31 528 297 111 or e-mail circularfurniture@vepa.nl
We teamed up with LAMA Concept because they have a lot of experience with sustainable materials and an innovative style. They deliver industrial design with a handcrafted finish and have a design style that suits us.
Check the specifications of Plastic Whale by Vepa products here.
About Plastic Whale
Plastic Whale is an organization with a social mission: plastic free land & sea, worldwide! We want to achieve this by showing others that economic value can be created from plastic waste, by involving as many people and businesses as possible through our pillars: We Collect, We Create, We Educate. Plastic Whale is a private company (BV) and a seperate Foundation. We are committed to our mission by working with citizens, schools, businesses and government agencies to collect as much waste as possible from nature during super fun Cleanup events. From the collected plastic waste we create economic value to make cool new products, such as our sloops and the Plastic Whale by Vepa office furniture line. The Foundation develops educational programs for primary schools and organizes Cleanups for kids. Through creativity, positivity and commitment, we inspire others to take action for plastic free land & sea. With our sustainable business model we activate companies, large or small, to support our mission by participating in our activities, becoming a partner or buying our circular office furniture. Committing to a better, cleaner world is – if you ask us – a matter of doing. Stop talking! Let’s start doing!
A large global movement of doers who actively contribute to reducing the plastic problem on land & sea, returning collected plastic back into the supply chain. This changes their perception of plastic waste and its use forever.
Founder Marius Smit saw the plastic problem during a trip around the world. The beautiful beaches covered in plastic made him realize it was time to take action. And the idea arose to build a boat from plastic waste. This was the beginning of the Plastic Whale Foundation in 2011.
All the plastic that ends up in the water adds to the plastic problem. In Amsterdam a lot of waste still ends up in the water. Not all the plastic is removed from the water by, for example, The Union of Regional Water Authorities. With our smaller boats we can get into hard to reach corners more easily, between houseboats for example. If plastic is left in the water, it will move from the Dutch cities into the seas.
The plastic soup is a growing, global problem. Our motto is: Stop talking! Let’s start doing! The world needs to take action now. Plastic waste is increasingly polluting the world’s waters, with serious consequences for animals, people and the environment. Up to 80 percent of all waste that ends up in the ocean is plastic. Each year, that’s more than 8 million tons. Animals in and around the water become entangled or suffocate in the plastic waste. In addition, plastic waste breaks down into very small particles (“microplastics”) that are swallowed by fish and other animals. This is how these particles end up in the food chain and we eventually serve it on our plates.
Plastic Whale is a private company (BV) and a separate foundation. Through Plastic Whale BV we fish almost daily with citizens, companies and government agencies in Amsterdam and Rotterdam to remove as much waste, plastic and general waste, from the water as possible. We also do many Cleanups on land. Because so many people participate in these events, we raise a lot of awareness about the plastic soup. In 2022 alone, nearly 50.000 bottles were removed from the water. From the collected plastic we make cool new products, such as the boats we use to fish more plastic from the water, and the high-end office furniture we create with Vepa. We also organize school programs through our Foundation, and also with the Maritime Museum, to raise awareness among the adults of the future.
We organize about 500 events per year. Every week we go out on the canals with dozens (in summer even hundreds) of enthusiastic plastic fishers. We also organize Cleanups on land. And of course two public events a year, in which everyone can participate!
Plastic Whale is a private company and a separate foundation. Plastic Whale Company organizes all company outings and events on land and water. With our partners we create new products such as our boats and office furniture in cooperation with Vepa. Through the Foundation, we develop teaching programs for primary schools and organize Cleanups for children.
We are a for-profit organization with a social purpose; together for plastic free land & sea, worldwide. Our social enterprise receives no funding, so we have to cover our costs with our own revenues. But we invest our entire revenue directly into our mission, so we can engage more and more people and increase our impact. We do this by organizing fun Cleanup events on water and on land, developing products but also by sharing our mission through communication.
The day after King’s Day and the day after the Pride Canal Parade, we will gather on the water with as many volunteers as possible to fish the canals clean. Keep an eye on our social media for more information about our public events and sign up to help!
Our public events are most of all intended for the general public and not for companies. As a company, you can of course go plastic fishing or do a Cleanup with the Plastic Whale BV as a team outing.
Our organization (BV) receives no funding, so we have to cover our costs with our own revenues. But we invest our entire revenue directly into our mission, so we can engage more and more people and increase our impact. The Plastic Whale Foundation does depend on grants and donations from both individuals and funds.
We currently have 7 people working in our office. We also have a large skipper base of over 50 enthusiastic skippers who sail for Plastic Whale.
Whenever possible, we use sustainable alternatives. For example, our boats are powered electrically and we use green electricity. In our day-to-day organization, we always choose the most sustainable options.
Great that you want to be involved with Plastic Whale! To make sure the right person can be there to speak to you, it’s helpful if you e-mail contact@plasticwhale.com in advance.
Cool! We are happy to see how we can help you best. Please send an e-mail to press@plasticwhale.com so we can figure out how to answer your questions best.
We generally do not sell our plastic, nor do we give it to others. When we create new products from our plastic we always do so within a partnership. Let’s work together!
Recycling deposits ensure that less bottles end up in the environment as litter, which is great! However, the introduction of deposits does not completely prevent plastic and other litter from ending up in the water. Even now, we still fish up a lot of deposit bottles and a lot of other litter. Even after the introduction of a deposit on cans in 2023, we will still have our hands (and nets) full cleaning the waters of Amsterdam and Rotterdam…. and the land of course! We think it is important to create social awareness of the plastic soup problem, especially by taking action together with citizens, companies and government authorities and by going plastic fishing and doing Cleanups with as many people as possible. We also create economic value from plastic waste on a local scale.
We wish! That would mean that our mission has succeeded, for we are fighting for plastic free land & sea. Deposits cannot prevent all the plastic from ending up in the water anyway. Besides plastic bottles, we also remove a lot of other plastic waste from the water. For example, plastic bags, plastic packaging, buckets, shoes and balloons.
We invest our entire revenue directly into our mission, so we can engage more and more people and increase our impact. We do this by organizing fun Cleanup events on water and on land, developing products but also by sharing our mission through communication.
For us, that is exactly where the challenge lies. The more big companies we can inspire to collaborate on solutions to tackle the plastic problem, the better. We want to work with big companies because ultimately they can make a lot of impact, by making small changes to their products, production process and their communication. With our model, we want to inspire companies that contributing to a better and cleaner world is actually good for their business. Through creativity, entrepreneurship, positivity and commitment, we want to convince them to take action. In addition, we believe that citizens, companies and government authorities have a shared responsibility when it comes to litter. We want to create a movement of people and organizations that want to move forward together. So we don’t want to point fingers and wait for each other. Above all, we want to take action. That’ s why our motto is “Stop talking. Let’s start doing.” We work from a basis of trust with our business partners, where our goal is to work with the partners to involve more and more internal and external stakeholders in sustainability goals, especially in the field of plastic waste. It is our experience and belief that our partners are intrinsically motivated to create positive change. At the same time, we also see that it is not always easy for those partners to fulfill their goals and intentions, as they are often dependent on different factors, such as suppliers, production processes, internal culture and expectations. By developing inspiring and practical cases with our partners, we believe we can change such internal and external factors. Of course, this will take some time. We see litter as a shared responsibility of citizens, companies and government authorities. So Plastic Whale does not want to point the finger at one or more organizations. We are working hard to make a concrete contribution to solving the problem and are extremely happy with the support we receive from all citizens, companies and government authorities involved. If a company goes plastic fishing with us with one or more teams, or buys our Plastic Whale by Vepa products to make their employees aware of the amount of waste that ends up in the water, we see that as very positive.
With our plastic fishing and Cleanup events, we not only remove plastic from nature, but also increase awareness about the plastic problem and create a sustainable change in behavior. For example, with the Plastic Whale Foundation, we also enable 3,000 school children to go plastic fishing or do a Cleanup every year. Children see up close how much waste ends up in the water and understand immediately that it does not belong there.
In 2022, we have:
1. removed 25.834 PET bottles and 6,530 bags of trash from nature
2. had 14.417 people on board to fish for plastic
3. had 1.331 people participate in a Cleanup on land
4. had 4.287 schoolchildren on board to fish for plastic or participate in a Cleanup, as part of a school program. Those kids collectively rescued 1.300 bags of trash from nature!
5. produced 10.196 pieces of circular furniture, together with Vepa
6. Since 2011, we have built 16 boats from plastic fished from Amsterdam’s canals
This ban means that less disposable plastic will be used, which is great! It will take some time before you see the impact of such a measure reflected in nature. Therefore, it will not directly affect nature and Plastic Whale. However, we are big supporters of this ban. We find it super important to create more awareness for the plastic soup problem , especially by taking action together with citizens, businesses and governments. If there is ultimately less plastic for us to find, we are one step closer to our goal: plastic free land & sea. And that is only a positive thing!