This is real eco-art! A museum designed to show the vital role that plastics play in our lives, as well as the possibilities that their reuse and recycling offer us was established in Spain. It was open to the public from May 8th to 16th with free access.
On May 17th, World Recycling Day, it was disassembled to reuse and recycle all its parts. Walls, ceilings and floors were recycled with the aim of turning them into different objects and giving them new lives.
EsPlásticos, the Spanish plastic value-chain platform, was inaugurated with Mr. Jose Luis Martínez-Almeida, Mayor of Madrid, Mr. Borja Carabante, Environment councilor for the Madrid City Council, and Ms. Dolors Montserrat, MEP of Partido Popular in the European Parliament, the first 100% recyclable Plastic Museum in the World: The Plastic Museum.
The main idea of creators was to convey the importance of recycling to get the most out of these materials.
The Plastic Museum not only exhibited plastic pieces, it was built entirely from this material. Seeing the pieces inside, such as essential objects for health care, communication, construction, food and sustainable mobility, the visitor was able to be aware of everything that plastics provide us when correct use is made of them. In addition, they were able to understand in a visual way that the problem arises when waste is not well managed or irresponsible use is made of it.
“This museum focuses on the importance of the use of plastic, and its contribution to the protection of the environment through all phases: ecodesign, use, reuse and recycling. It also shows how plastics can contribute to fight against climate change through the reduction of energy consumption and of CO2 emissions”, said Alicia Martín, spokesperson for EsPlásticos.
Exterior design and exhibition
The Museum has been designed by the Delavegacanolasso architecture studio, specialized in modular prefabricated architecture and the use of plastic elements for the design and construction of structures and furniture. With an area of 73.5m2, it was built with different plastic materials, such as polyethylene, methacrylate, polycarbonate and PVC. It presented a modern and avant-garde design, and combined natural and artificial light, while playing with different plastic materials.
The Plastic Museum exhibition has been designed by the curator Eloy Martínez de la Pera, an expert in the organization and production of exhibitions who has worked on the conceptualization of artistic projects for the most important museums in Spain, as well as being responsible for the ARCO Award for artistic creation.
Throughout its three rooms, the Museum was presented as a transformative space, which sought a change in the wrong or imprecise perception of plastic, a recyclable and sustainable material. In addition, its idea was to show how essential these materials are and how they have transformed sectors such as health, food, construction, and mobility, among others. Finally, the museum pursued the objective of transforming misuse through responsible practices, environmental awareness and a culture of reuse and recycling.
For those who cannot visit the museum in person, The Plastic Museum puts at their disposal on its website www.theplasticmuseum.com a virtual tour of all the rooms and pieces of the museum, so that through images and videos they can also enjoy the experience and understand all the messages that the plastics sector wants to convey with this initiative.
About EsPlásticos
EsPlásticos, the plastics platform, is a project aimed to join the different agents that are part of the plastics sector and value chain, among which are the more than 30 companies that in Spain have participated in the creation of The Plastic Museum. Together with the platform, manufacturing companies of all types of plastics, companies related to their reuse and recycling, have joined forces in this pioneering project to launch this message of support for the environment and promotion of sustainability throughout the plastic lifecycle.
