Inspiring smarter solutions

The Plastiki, a 60-foot (18.2 m) catamaran made from plastic bottles, sailed into Sydney Harbour on Monday 26 July. Designed to raise awareness of the amount of plastic waste in the ocean and plant the seed in everyone’s mind to think about minimising waste and re-using materials intelligently, the Plastiki expedition is the creation of adventurer and environmentalist David de Rothschild and his organisation, Adventure Ecology.

The catamaran is made from 12,500 reclaimed plastic bottles, self-reinforced PET and recycled materials. The vibrant skipper of the Plastiki is English born Jo Royle. She was the only female on board the expedition crew of six which set out from San Francisco on 20 March 2010.

Jo says every aspect of sustainability was considered on the expedition and they were able to use a whole host of technology on board for communication and navigation. Initially, she had to figure out how much power this technology was going to need and work out an environmentally friendly way of getting it. Renewables were the solution, with all the Plastiki’s power needs met by sun, wind and propeller turbines. They also put in backup, bike-powered electricity generators; however, Jo said they didn’t need them but they were good fun for exercise.

HP equipped the vessel with eco-friendly, energy-efficient and durable technology that was used by the crew throughout the journey to gather information, capture and store their story and communicate with their land-based crew and thousands of supporters, especially through their website, Facebook and Twitter pages. Jo says they never had a problem with the technology and it’s the most connected adventure she’s ever been on. “Communication technology allowed everyone to come with us on the journey,” she said, which was great to get their message across the globe.

The satellite technology from Inmarsat enabled all this communication and it was fuelled by the sun with a solar array on the mast. On Earth Day, one of the crew was even able to link up via Skype to the hospital where his baby was being born. Jo explains that this was an amazing day, one she will never forget and one of the highlights of having the ultimate in communication needs onboard.

The expedition not only resulted in the ocean waste awareness it set out to achieve, but has become a platform for the development of a new material innovation. Called Seratex, the material was developed from recycled PET to make a fibreglass-like substance that has strength and flexibility. It could result in a commercially viable product with applications in surfboards or skateboards having already proven its ability to withstand the ocean elements on the cat.

The depth of thought and innovation that has gone into the development of this unique vessel and the expedition is exceptional. The crew drank water recycled from urine and ate food from sustainable sources. Every element was considered, even down to the glue they used, which was made from cashew nut husks and sugarcane. Materials that can continuously be up-cycled and repurposed for other uses were sourced for the project.

David de Rothschild says this expedition has managed to bring together talented, like-minded people to create innovative solutions. He half-jokingly explains that his next adventure may be Spacetiki to bring attention to the amount of waste floating around in space. “Anything is possible,” he says.

Despite all the media and public attention the expedition has received, Jo has lost none of her enthusiasm and vividly explains the features of the cat. The expedition has been successful in challenging how we currently use, re-use and ultimately dispose of plastics. The expedition is not against plastic, it’s all about developing smarter solutions.