This floating hotel is built with 800 plastic bottles collected from the beaches of the Ivory Coast

Located in Abidjan, in the middle of the lagoon, “L'île flottante” was designed by reusing plastic bottles towards eco-tourism.

He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him

Located in Abidjan, in the middle of the lagoon, “L'île flottante” was designed to denounce the pollution of plastic in our waters and to reuse the bottles towards a more ecological tourism.

There are several recycling projects with plastic waste, but none like L'île flottante. French entrepreneur Eric Becker saw the invasion of plastic bottles floating in the waters of the Ivory Coast as an opportunity to make money. What started as a small contribution to the planet by cleaning the beaches, ended up becoming the first hotel made with "garbage".

The hotel is a small island located in Lake Ébrié in Abidjan with rooms made of wood or recycled materials. What is surprising is the fact that it keeps afloat thanks to the 800.000 plastic bottles collected in the lake itself and along the beaches of the Ivory Coast. The hotel's electricity is powered by solar panels and it also has a restaurant inside where local food is prepared.

It receives around 100 customers a week, mostly curious Ivorians and ecotourists. Spending a relaxing day on the island costs 15.000 CFA francs (around € 22) per person per day, with a meal and ferry included, while for a night you need 60.000 CFA francs (around € 90).

Posted by L'île flottante on Monday, January 30, 2017

By now we all know the damage caused by single-use plastics, it's like we dump a truckload of them into the ocean every minute. On the path we have taken to become plastic free, Becker's project underlines the importance of finding innovative ways to now address the volume of plastic in the environment. Surely, to save the oceans, much more must be done than just collecting plastic from the sea. Trying to eliminate it from our daily life and reduce the consumption of fish to discourage the practice of intensive fishing could be a winning formula.

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