Waste turned into a treasure: the dream comes true

The new project does not hesitate to designate as a “local hero” every citizen who intends to take part to the mission.

If you own a little shop or a commercial activity opened to the public, you can join this plan, thought by some citizens and backed by the Amsterdam administration. Many shops and little business already are joining the “Wasted lab” initiative: they accept some green plastic -obviously recycle-made- coins as a payment.

Every citizen simply can get this kind of coin by recycling some amount of plastic[1]. The idea is basically to give your  plastic waste to some specific deposits managed by the city in order to earn some green coins, spendable in (hundreds so far) shops, festivals, etc.

A new local coin for the environment champions, or “local heroes” is a clue that could combine many aspects of people interest and involvement: the usage of this specific coin, in fact, could mark a person as a member of an élite interested in environment issues. Thinking of being special doing something great (for the environment, in this case), psychologically fits many ambitions of the human being. That’s why this project is going to become one of the most precious innovations in European urban policies.

An example of discount applied to the joiners of the “Wasted lab” program is the one that the Amsterdam cinema “FC Hyena” offers. The cinema, located in the north of the city, is also a small restaurant and a wine bar, and it guarantees a second free ticket for 6 coins of this new green currency.
The hope is certainly that many big cities through the continent will follow this innovative path traced by the Netherlands capital city.

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[1] Click HERE to get some more specific details.