Plastiki Epic Journey Complete!

The Plastiki. Image from Time Magazine.

The Plastiki, a catamaran made of 12,500 recycled plastic bottles, having traveled four months 8,000 miles from Sausalito, CA, finally completed its journey when it arrived in Sydney harbor yesterday. Led by environmentalist and expedition leader David de Rothschild, this epic voyage aimed to raise awareness of the costs and consequences of plastic waste, and the giant Pacific garbage patch.

The Plastiki Crew. Image from National Geographic.

With better technology than available at the time of Thor Heyerdahl's 1947 Kon-Tiki expedition, which inspired the name Plastiki, they broadcasted updates through Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and their blog. They gave media interviews while on board, and their official filmmaker even witnessed his child's birth via Skype! Living in cramped quarters and eating food grown in the on-board garden, they overcame storms, high seas, and numerous challenges to get to Sydney. 

A photo from The Plastiki.

The boat will be open to the public on Sunday, August 1, at the Australian National Maritime Museum in Sydney's Darling Harbour. Get updates on their Facebook page on the event. Visit their website, check out photos from their expedition, and pledge to stop using plastic bottles, plastic bags, styrofoam, or all three!

Here's a great quote from de Rothschild from the National Geographic article that got us thinking:

"The story that has been told to us about plastic is that it's cheap, it's valueless, it's non-toxic, it's easy to use, and don't worry about throwing it out because we can just make some more," said de Rothschild.

"The reality is it's not cheap, it's not non-toxic, it's not valueless. It's valuable, it uses a lot of resources.... We need to start taking a serious look at the way we produce and design every product we use in our lives."


Via Surfrider Foundation, Time Magazine, and National Geographic.


--- Viv