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Molek FMThe Plastiki Voyage
Recycling has a whole new meaning now as Adventure Ecology founder and environmentalist David de Rothschild unveiled the Plastiki, a pioneering 60ft catamaran made from approximately 12,500 reclaimed water bottles and a new recyclable material called srPET.
Now the crew of the Plastiki is on an 11,000 nautical miles journey from San Francisco to Sydney while visiting several sites of ecological importance or which are susceptible to environmental issues caused by global warming, for instance the current sea level rise, ocean acidification and marine pollution.
What sets the Plastiki apart from all the other vessels is that it is engineered almost entirely from 12,500 reclaimed bottles that provide 68% of the boat’s buoyancy. A unique recyclable plastic material made from srPET makes up her super structure, the mast is a reclaimed aluminium irrigation pipe, the one of a kind sail is hand-made from recycled PET cloth, and the secondary bonding is reinforced using a newly developed organic glue made from cashew nuts and sugar cane. In addition, the Plastiki relies on only renewable energy systems such as solar panels, wind and trailing propeller turbines, bicycle generators, a urine to water recovery and rain water catchment system and hydroponic rotating cylinder garden.
Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Cream, the classic facial moisturizing cream, originally tested by polar explorers during the Greenland First Ascent in 2005, will be supplied to the crew, in addition to 2 new, upcoming formulations to show their support in this adventure, namely the Cross Terrain UV Skin Protector with SPF 50 and Cross-Terrain All-in-One Refueling Wash.
The skin protector hydrates the skin while providing optimum UVA/UVB broad-spectrum protection against sunburn on areas most exposed such as the face, ears, neck and hands. The energizing, 100% biodegradable and paraben-free multi-purpose wash is ideal for on-the-go cleansing for face and body – and even performs well as a shaving-aid!
This expedition that the Plastiki is embarking on hopes to increase the awareness of how much pollution there is in our ocean and also to show that waste should be taken as a renewable resource that should be reused instead of just being tossed away.