Postcards from the Planet

An artist's image of the Plastiki

The Plastiki is based on an old idea — the raft — but it is being updated and made new because it is being constructed out of plastic bottles.  Explorer David de Rothschild plans to launch the plastic bottle raft in the summer of 2009, and the crew will sail the raft across the Pacific Ocean.

What do they want to prove? Unlike Thor Heyerdahl with his raft Kon-tiki, proving that people could have crossed the Pacific on rafts, de Rothschild plans to highlight the increasing litter in the ocean, and the importance of reusing plastic for other purposes — like plastic bottle rafts! Plastiki and its crew will visit the Pacific Garbage Patch, a huge area of litter which swirls around the Pacific Ocean. You can read more about the Garbage Patch here: Trash Vortex . To follow the voyage of Plastiki beginning in the summer of 2009, visit the boat’s  website regularly: Plastiki.