Prague, Jul 24 (EFE).- Olympic fever for the upcoming Summer Games in Paris has spread to the Czech Republic, where a 3D printing firm has built a scaled-down Eiffel Tower – made entirely out of recycled ocean waste.
The approximately 12.5 meter-tall Eiffel Tower will be “one of the centerpieces” of the Olympic Festival taking place on the shores of Lake Most in northern Czechia, Jan Hrebabecky, the owner and CEO of 3DDen, tells EPA Images.
The Eiffel Tower model is unique because of the “technology used” as well as its “ecological and social impact,” Hrebabecky explains.
“The material used for this tower comes directly from ocean waste (…) from southeast Asia.”
The United Nations estimates that every day, the equivalent of 2,000 garbage trucks full of plastic are dumped into oceans, rivers, and lakes around the world, while the UN’s Environment Program says that between 19-23 million tons of plastic leak into aquatic ecosystems each year.
Southeast Asian countries are among the worst offenders in terms of plastic waste generation, according to the UN, with the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia and Myanmar, responsible for over 50% of the global total.
In a bid to address the situation and repurpose the waste, Swiss company Tide manufactures recycled material out of 100% ocean-bound plastic in a variety of forms, including the pellets and filaments used by 3DDen.
Over 1,500 separate pieces, which were manufactured and partially assembled at the company’s workshop in Prague, have been brought to the festival site in Most.
There, “it is constructed one floor at a time,” Hrebabecky says, adding that the entire printing process took over five months.
The bottom of the Eiffel Tower measures 5.1 meters, and the top of the tower consists of a single piece that weighs over 100kg.
“This Eiffel Tower is made of 1.3 tons of ocean waste. (So) we help to clean the oceans of a serious amount of waste,” the CEO says.
Currently, 3DDen uses recycled ocean waste to make interior decorations, wall tiles, and sports medals and trophies, Hrebabecky explains.
The Olympic Festival in Most will be held on the same dates as the Summer Games in Paris – from 26 July to 11 August. EFE
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