The ‘CityGards’ are made from recycled material, and are strangely alluring
Translated by Thomas Ansell
How do you stop people dumping their rubbish by municipal containers? It’s a slightly gross question, but one that requires answering by city authorities across the Netherlands. Emmen has come up with one answer: create post-industrial micro gardens around the containers!
The first container gardens have now been installed at the Spehornerbrink in the Bargeres area of Emmen, and more will be unveiled in the coming days in Agelslo, Rietlanden, and the Kazienaveen neighbourhoods; as well as in Emmer-Compascuum, Zwartemeer, and Schoonbeek. As reported by the Dagblad van het Noorden.
Residents themselves installed the micro gardens, with some assistance from the housing associations Lefier and Domesta. The CityGards, as they’re sometimes known, are made from recycled plastic, and are suitable for all types of plants.
Emmen isn’t the first place in the Netherlands to have installed the micro gardens, with the Gemeentes Den Haag and Alkmaar being the earliest adopters; and several having been placed in the Vinkhuizen neighbourhood of Groningen last year.
Image via the Gemeente Emmen
