Plastic Whale is the first professional ‘plastic fishing company’ in the world. The Amsterdam-based enterprise takes tourists on trips along the Unesco waterways where the catch of the day is more likely to be a plastic bottle than carp.

From the bay window of the Amsterdam apartment in which I lived as a student, I had a perfect view across the city’s picturesque waterways. From there I would often sit and watch as barges lazed by and house boats glided down the navigable shimmering canals, as they had done for centuries.

By Laura Brown with additional reporting by Anthea Ayache for The Ethicalist.

The Plastic Whale