— By Andru Shively — 

While Panama and its eponymous canal at the beginning of May featured in the multifaceted geopolitical drama threatening to strain ties between neighbours on the global stage, elsewhere in the Panama Canal Watershed much more sustainable links are being built between communities.

Around the same time, a new 81 m pedestrian bridge made from recycled plastics was inaugurated in the watershed, the result of a collaboration between Latin American bank Bladex, the Panama Canal Authority, and Colombian foundation Botellas de Amor, which manufactured the plastic profiles used in the construction. The second of its kind, following one built in 2023, the bridge is the transformation of more than 3 t of plastics waste redirected from landfills or waterways and, according to Bladex, connects four communities and facilitates the mobility of some 300 people.

Of a much larger scale than the plastic bridges we’ve seen recently, the new walkway shows that when communities come together, lives are changed for the better – now how about on the world stage?