The City of Amsterdam became the first city in the world to join WWF’s Plastic Smart Cities initiative on 20 June 2019. The city designated a pilot area for best practice implementation, with a goal to reduce plastic pollution in the pilot area by 30% by 2021. The city also developed a monitoring action plan and pledged to share progress in their sustainability reporting, as well as working to achieve the ambitious goal of No Plastic in Nature by 2030.
Amsterdam is the capital city and most populous municipality in The Netherlands, with an estimated 866,737 people living within city proper, 1,380,872 in the urban area and 2,410,960 in the metropolitan area. Amsterdam has more than 100 kilometers (60 miles) of canals, with the City being connected to the North Sea by the North Sea Canal.
Littering is a major problem in Helsinki, causing environmental and health damage, reducing the attractiveness and amenity of urban areas and negatively affecting the urban image. In Helsinki, the annual cost of cleaning public areas is more than €14 million. To address the problem of littering, Environmental Services of Helsinki’s Urban Environment Division launched a Litter Control Action Plan, which brings together the different operators and stakeholders of the City of Helsinki to jointly address the problem of littering. One of the top projects in the Action Plan is An efficient network, where the idea is to tackle littering through cooperation and collaboration. This was one of the driving factors in joining the Plastic Smart Cities initiative.
Amsterdam Clean Water was founded in 2016 by the municipality of Amsterdam, Waternet, Port of Amsterdam, Plastic Soup Foundation, PlasticsEurope Nederland, NRK and Berenschot, as part of a large central ‘clean city’ project. It is a long-term program aimed at bringing structural change to waste management concerning the waters of Amsterdam. The goal of the program is to reduce the amount of litter that ends up in canals and the IJ River each year. Within the program, several activities and projects are organized each year to raise awareness and create structural solutions.
A ‘Bubble Barrier’ has been installed in the Westerdok since the autumn of 2019. This is a bubble screen that prevents plastic from ending up in the North Sea from Amsterdam’s canals. The bubble screen doesn’t just collect plastic that is visible. The Bubble Barrier’s rising bubbles push debris up from below the water’s surface. The natural flow of the water pushes the plastic towards the collection system on the quay. The Bubble Barrier forms a barrier to plastic, but allows fish and other animals to pass through. Amsterdam’s aquatic life is not bothered by the bubbles. In fact, the oxygen level in the water increases thanks to the bubbles. This is good for the ecosystem and prevents toxic blue algae from growing.
Cafés and restaurants in the area between Amstel Station and City Hall will stop using single-use plastic on their terraces. Amsterdam hopes that all catering entrepreneurs will follow this example.
Amsterdam Plastic Smart City has teamed up with Amsterdam Merchandising to develop an iconic, reusable water bottle: the Amsterdammertje. The plastic of this bottle is made from the remains of sugar cane. In the city there are more than 500 free water taps where you can fill the water bottle.
Currently, Amsterdam hosts around one million visitors per month. Considering the fact that this number is growing rapidly, it becomes increasingly important to keep our city clean. For this reason, Amsterdam Clean Water launched a promotional video about the importance of clean waters in Amsterdam.
The film follows a number of enthousiasts who are actively and passionately involved in cleaning our canals. The purpose of the film is to make tourists, residents and daily visitors aware of the large amount of litter that easily ends up in the water. The film is suitable to be shown in trams, buses and trains.
Key activities and planned pilot interventions
A Roadmap for Plastics for City of Helsinki is in the making. Roadmap includes recommended actions on all operational sectors, which will be integrated to the city’s existing Action Plans and Strategies.
Implementing Helsinki’s and Turku’s joint Baltic Sea Action Plan 2024-2028. The Action Plan has two actions that tackle specifically littering. These include an awareness raising campaign and developing an environmental guide for events.
Implementing Helsinki’s Litter Control Action Plan 2022-2025 which includes 17 different actions. The measures are divided into five top projects and other measures. The top projects are larger, multi-annual projects that are a particular focus of the programme. The measures can be divided into three themes: communication, public spaces, and construction.
Key plastic reduction targets and goals
Conduct a baseline assessment of plastic waste flows in the city to identify current levels of mismanaged waste and priorities for intervention.
Develop a city action plan with clear targets and timelines that describe the city’s planned activities in response to the priorities identified in the baseline assessment, as well as allocate adequate resources to execute said activities.
Launch a pilot project to trial solutions to plastic pollution within a designated area, with a goal to reduce plastic pollution by 30% in the pilot area and to reduce plastic pollution throughout the city by 30% within five (5) years. Develop a monitoring and evaluation plan and report annually on progress towards the city action plan.
Explore More Cities
NETHERLANDS | AMSTERDAM
As part of the Plastic Smart Cities Croatia project, which is implemented in cooperation with Association Sunce Split and WWF, the City of Dubrovnik committed to reducing its plastic footprint by eliminating single-use plastics as well stopping the inflow of plastics into nature by 2030.
CITY: Amsterdam
COUNTRY: The Netherlands
POPULATION: 866,737
JOINED: June 2019
OFFICIAL WEBSITE: view
CONNECT: Facebook
The City of Amsterdam became the first city in the world to join WWF's Plastic Smart Cities initiative on 20 June 2019. The city designated a pilot area for best practice implementation, with a goal to reduce plastic pollution in the pilot area by 30% by 2021. The city also developed a monitoring action plan and pledged to share progress in their sustainability reporting, as well as working to achieve the ambitious goal of No Plastic in Nature by 2030.
Amsterdam is the capital city and most populous municipality in The Netherlands, with an estimated 866,737 people living within city proper, 1,380,872 in the urban area and 2,410,960 in the metropolitan area. Amsterdam has more than 100 kilometers (60 miles) of canals, with the City being connected to the North Sea by the North Sea Canal.
Amsterdam Clean Water Initiative
Amsterdam Clean Water was founded in 2016 by the municipality of Amsterdam, Waternet, Port of Amsterdam, Plastic Soup Foundation, PlasticsEurope Nederland, NRK and Berenschot, as part of a large central ‘clean city’ project. It is a long-term program aimed at bringing structural change to waste management concerning the waters of Amsterdam. The goal of the program is to reduce the amount of litter that ends up in canals and the IJ River each year. Within the program, several activities and projects are organized each year to raise awareness and create structural solutions.
Amsterdammertje: the sustainable water bottle
Amsterdam Plastic Smart City has teamed up with Amsterdam Merchandising to develop an iconic, reusable water bottle: the Amsterdammertje. The plastic of this bottle is made from the remains of sugar cane. In the city there are more than 500 free water taps where you can fill the water bottle.
Terraces without disposable plastic
Cafés and restaurants in the area between Amstel Station and City Hall will stop using single-use plastic on their terraces. Amsterdam hopes that all catering entrepreneurs will follow this example.
The Bubble Barrier
A 'Bubble Barrier' has been installed in the Westerdok since the autumn of 2019. This is a bubble screen that prevents plastic from ending up in the North Sea from Amsterdam's canals. The bubble screen doesn't just collect plastic that is visible. The Bubble Barrier's rising bubbles push debris up from below the water's surface. The natural flow of the water pushes the plastic towards the collection system on the quay. The Bubble Barrier forms a barrier to plastic, but allows fish and other animals to pass through. Amsterdam's aquatic life is not bothered by the bubbles. In fact, the oxygen level in the water increases thanks to the bubbles. This is good for the ecosystem and prevents toxic blue algae from growing.