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The Plastiki story
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ENGINEERING & HUMANITY WEEK CELEBRATES
A
1-of-a-kind boat
… for 12,500 reasons
The Plastiki.
Made of 12,500 reclaimed 2-liter plastic drink bottles and other recycled materials, this innovative 60-foot (18 meters), twin-hulled catamaran is called…
British adventurer and ecologist
David de Rothschild and his team built it to increase awareness of the pollution of the world’s largest natural resource—the oceans’ waters.
For buoyancy the bottles were filled with powdered dry
ice and sealed to re-expand with carbon
dioxide and thus float.
The bottles were
joined together with
Earth Weld, an earth-
friendly bonding
agent the Plastiki
team developed
using sugar and
cashews.
The frame
is made of woven
plastic, held together
with heat-welded tape
and steel bolts.
Masts and sails
are two reclaimed irrigation
pipes and recycled PET bottles.
is generated by wind turbines on each stern, solar panels on the cabin, submerged turbines near the rudders and two mounted exercise bikes.
Power
Plastiki facts
• Weight: 12 tons
• Height: 59.7 feet (18.2 meters)
• Average distance per day: 200 miles (322
kilometers)
Sailing a ‘statement’ David made maritime
history in 2010 when
he and his small crew
sailed his recycled
boat 8,000 miles
across the Pacific. His
expedition was an
engineering first and
brought global
attention to the South
Pacific garbage patch.
For his commitment to our planet,
David de Rothschild is being
honored with a 2013 Visionary
Award from the Hunt Institute for
Engineering and Humanity.
For more information, and to
take the pledge to stop using
plastic bags and bottles, visit
www.myplastiki.com.
All images used with permission and copyrighted by “The Plastiki.”
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