The world's first recycled plastic skatepark

Oct 18, 2022

Sharing a strong sense of self-sustainability, Cuba Skate has supported locals in revamping abandoned warehouses into DIY skateable spaces, repurposing their donated skateboards, beach cleaning initiatives, and is now on a mission to build the world’s first recycled plastic skatepark. About Cuba Skate Operating since 2010, Cuba Skate is a DIY driven non-profit empowering Havana’s local skate community. What started as a series of trips to donate skate gear over to the island has evolved into an international community of support to nurture the skate scene in Havana and neighboring towns. Cuba Skate is locally led, though international volunteers are integral to providing support through donations and fundraisers, traveling and shipping donations isn’t a very straightforward process. Locals have taken it into their own hands to create DIY skate spaces, by cleaning up neglected spaces and relying on what was at hand to create their skate scene as they imagine it (bearing in mind the internet has only existed since 2015!). Cuba Skate doesn’t just stop at mixing concrete - by embracing skate culture’s natural DIY attitude, their initiatives empower youth to tackle challenges specific to Cuba and to their own lives, and to create connections within their community to overcome them. Their outreach mobile programs to more remote communities enable youth to explore skating as a new creative outlet, to empower young women in sport, and to use skating as an incentive to take care of their open, public spaces. The Plastics Skatepark Project by Cuba Skate Cuba Skate brings together locals of all ages to clean up their beaches, riverbeds, and city plazas as part of their sustainability programs. With the partnership of Precious Plastics and the local Matanzas waste processing plant, the shredded trash becomes plastic “bricks” to be shaped into ramps and obstacles - a real trash to treasure transformation. Building a permanent skatepark in Cuba is a challenge for the organization, mainly because of shortages in construction materials and lack of transportation access to import. Building recycled ramps and boxes and kickers that can easily move about from one spot to another enables the mobile project to engage youth in hard to reach areas, as well as providing a more sustainable alternative to skatepark construction. Key numbers about Cuba Skate