San Francisco to Sydney on a Plastic Boat
National Geographic Explorer David de Rothschild is setting sail from San Francisco to Sydney on a Plastic Bottle Boat in April. Plastiki is the 60 foot catamaran made out of 12,000 two liter plastic bottles that will make the voyage. The purpose of this trip is two fold-to investigate plastic litter, the most common ocean pollution, and to highlight the many ways plastic can be re-purposed.
Only one of the 15 billion pounds of plastic produced in the United States each year is recycled and much of the leftovers float their way to the Great Eastern Pacific Garbage Patch. Also, don't forget March 22 is National Water Day, and most people aren't aware that the Great Eastern Pacific Garbage Patch has grown to more than twice the size of Texas!
National Geographic hopes this voyage will showcase the many uses for smart materials so when Plastiki's voyage is over, the boat will be broken down and turned into emergency shelters, shipping pellets, clothes, and even more bottles.
Check out the photos and video of Plastiki and her gutsy captain, David de Rothschild, at National Geographic Online.




