Plastic Bottle Boat Sets Sail

So you've heard of a ship-in-a-bottle, but what about a ship made of bottles? This past Saturday, a sail boat made out of 12,000 recycled plastic bottles and other recycled materials set sail for a 3 month voyage across the Pacific. The Plastiki, as it is cleverly named, will sail from San Francisco to Sydney, Australia to call attention to environmental issues such as pollution and global warming, and their effects on our oceans.

David de Rothschild and his 5-person crew will man the vessel through regions of the Pacific Ocean that have been negatively affected by pollution. One such area being the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a floating mound of trash that is estimated to be twice the size of Texas.

The Plastiki is made buoyant by 12,000 plastic bottles filled with carbon dioxide. The mast is made from a used irrigation pipe, and the sail was fashioned from recycled PET plastic. Solar panels and wind energy are used to power the boat, along with an exercise bike connected to a generator. In addition, the crew will use rain water to take showers and a vertical garden to grow some of their food.

You can track the boat's progress, learn more about how it was made, or check out pictures on the Plastiki Website.