02/26/20 – Mayor Newsom today joined Adventure Ecology founder and environmentalist David de Rothschild for the unveiling of the Plastiki, a pioneering 60ft catamaran made from approximately 12,500 reclaimed plastic bottles that provide 68% of the boat’s buoyancy.

The Plastiki crew is making final preparations to embark on an adventure taking them 11,000 nautical miles across the Pacific Ocean from San Francisco to Sydney. The Plastiki will be drawing attention to the health of our oceans, and in particular the large amounts of plastic debris, by showcasing waste as a resource and demonstrating real world solutions through the design and construction of the Plastiki.

“Plastiki will take us on a journey to see the most poignant examples of human impact on the oceans,” said Mayor Newsom. “Plastiki demonstrates how unconventional thinking creates alternatives, and how our imaginations can invent practical solutions.”

The Plastiki began her adventure nearly four years ago after taking inspiration from a report issued by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) called ‘Ecosystems and Biodiversity in Deep Waters and High Seas’ and Thor Heyerdahl’s epic 1947 expedition, The Kon-Tiki.

During the three month voyage, the Plastiki will explore a number of environmental hotspots such as, environmentally vulnerable island nations, damaged coral reefs and the challenges faced by our acidifying oceans and marine debris, in particular plastic pollution, in our oceans. The Plastiki team will gather information by using a combination of visual media and scientific data to map and measure ecological conditions along the entire route. There will be daily scientific readings including wind directions, water temperature and water samples as well as underwater photography. The gathered information is intended to provide valuable measured data on environmental trends, and create a story across the Pacific.

According to UNEP, it is estimated that almost all of the marine pollution in the world is comprised of plastic materials. The average proportion varied between 60% and 80% of total marine pollution. 15 billion pounds of plastic are produced in the U.S. every year, and only 1 billion pounds are recycled. More than 38 billion plastic bottles and 25 million Styrofoam cups end up in landfill and although plastic bottles are 100% recyclable, on average only 20% are actually recycled.