When 31-year-old British explorer, David de Rothschild, and his crew of scientists set sail from San Francisco on a 100-day voyage to Sydney, Australia it gave the term “message in a bottle” a whole new meaning. In an effort to promote awareness of the dangers of dumping waste in the ocean, the crew’s vessel is constructed out of 12,000 recycled plastic two-liter bottles that are pressurized with dry ice. The 60-foot catamaran is also equipped with wind and sea turbines, solar panels, a hydroponic garden, and sails that are woven out of a new recycled material called PET.
The ship – which has been dubbed Plastiki – will be floating past the Great Eastern Pacific Garbage Patch where plastic pollution twice the size of Texas has accumulated – further driving the message that plastics can be used as a viable resource. Although the crew will be roughing it with rainwater showers and compost toilets, they won’t be going without Internet access, thanks to onboard equipment provided by Hewlett-Packard. If you’re interested in following Plastiki’s journey to Australia, they are sharing their tales of adventure on the high seas on their Facebook page. Who knows? It could be the start of truly “green” cruise line.