Plastiki Preps for Cross-Pacific Pollution Awareness Trek

An heir to a family banking fortune might be tempted to bask in a life of ease and leisure, but David de Rothschild instead has chosen to pursue a calling to draw attention to the world's environmental challenges, and he is doing so in a daring and creative way.

Constructed from more than 12,000 plastic soda bottles, The San Francisco Chronicle reports that his 60-foot catamaran was recently given a trial sail in San Francisco Bay. Dubbed Plastiki (in a nod the Thor Heyerdahl's Kon-Tiki, the raft used in a 1947 cross-Pacific expedition), the boat is slated for a longer voyage in March.

The vessel is the centerpiece of de Rothschild's quest to raise awareness of the pervasiveness of plastic and of how little of it is recycled, as well as the means of transportation for getting to and filming the phenomenon that is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

The Plastiki Project website expands on the mission and the passion that fuels it:

"We're sending this one of a kind catamaran and her intrepid crew into the heart of the volatile Pacific Ocean on on a mission to beat waste. The goal of the expedition is to not only continue encouraging the world to focus on reducing, reusing and recycling more of its natural resources but ultimately to think smart by re-thinking waste as a resource. It is such a re-think that will ultimately help to promote and provide stepping-stones towards the type of thinking that will lead individuals, business and industry alike to start living within the equilibrium that our natural world craves."

The New York Times writes that preparations for the project have been underway for years since de Rothschild was inspired to act after reading a UN report on ocean pollution. He explains to The Times the challenges posed by making his vision a reality:

"Crossing the Pacific on a boat you’ve built yourself is no mean feat, taking a purist approach makes it even more challenging. Typically boats are designed from the most innovative materials to be as tough as possible, but we’re using trash. At times it has felt like we’ve been working in a black hole with nothing to refer to but our last mistake or success. Incredibly challenging."

As The Times also indicates, Plastiki's design flows completely from sustainability as a core value: everything is recycled and recyclable. The boat features rainwater collection system, a composting toilet, solar panels, wind turbines, and a pair of exercise bikes rigged with generators.

According to The Chronicle, if preparations continue to go according to schedule Plastiki will depart San Francisco in about one month for a journey across the Pacific which is hoped to end safely in Australia.

Photo courtesy of ekornblut via flickr