Pre-loved items from the pre-loved market

Today I went to a so-called pre-loved market, which is I guess basically just a cuter way of saying flea market of second hand stuff.

Honestly, I had no real intentions of buying things, I was more curious on how this little initiative by Tradono (a flea market app) looks like, but I did end up taking some things home. A pair of earrings, sunglasses, and a pair of shoes. Want to guess how much they cost?

 

*drum roll*

 
Altogether 12 euros.

I had to count again just to be sure, because it seemed too cheap. But it’s true!

• 3 euros for the earrings, which are gorgeous btw,
• 4 euros for the sunglasses,
• and 5 euros for the shoes.

What a bargain!

I’m glad these pre-loved things are going to get some extra love instead of going to the landfill.

Sustainability at Schiphol

I was already amazed by the sustainability efforts of Schiphol, Amsterdam’s airport a couple years ago, upon reading the signs in the bathrooms that their toilets are flushed with rainwater. (I have always wanted to do that in my own home too, but I’m pretty sure my landlord wouldn’t like the idea. If you do though, here’s a nice guide on how to do this on your own bathroom.)

But this year, it seems like they came up with a couple more awesome ideas revolving around sustainability, including for example a revolving door that generates electricity while you push it.

And some bikes you can hop on to charge your phone. I really wish they had these in more places!

I love it that they do this. A shame though that the advertised URL (schiphol.nl/sustainability) doesn’t work – I’d love to read more about the stuff they do!

 

 

Ride the Plastic Whale – on a boat

The other day while walking around in Amsterdam I stumbled on these cute little boats. They all said ‘This boat is made of Amsterdam Canal Plastic’, and on close inspection, their floors were clearly made of plastic waste pieces, so I just had to look up what all this was about.

As it turns out, the company behind these boats is Plastic Whale, and their initiative is as cool as can be. The formula is simple: take people on boat tours, fish out plastic from Amsterdam canals, recycle plastic, make boats from recycled plastic – and then the cycle starts all over. Tour – fishing – recycle – boat, more tours – more fishing  – more to recycle – more boats. Yes, it’s awesome. Check out their wonderful little introduction video here:

In case you are wondering: YES, you can book your own plastic fishing tour with them. I told you, they are pure awesome.