Across the Ocean on Plastic Bottles
Two men who spent three months on a raft made of plastic bottles to raise awareness of ocean pollution have completed their trip across the Pacific Ocean.
The men traveled 2,600 miles on what they called “The Junk Raft” - a raft made up of salvaged sailboat masts, the fuselage of a Cessna airplane and six pontoons filled with 15,000 plastic bottles.
The men ran low on food supplies during the trip and got caught in storms, which tore their raft apart. About two weeks in, some of the bottles that were supposed to help the raft float started to sink and they had to anchor the raft offshore and rebuild it.
Along the way they collected water samples to measure the amount of the debris on the ocean surface and caught fish with stomachs filled with plastic pieces.
The team hopes to visit schools around Hawaii and share their experience. They are also working on a documentary about the trip to raise public awareness of the danger of plastics.
Learn more about how you can keep plastic out of the ocean by recycling.
Comments
That's really cool! I tell my parents all the time to not buy water at the store. So now we use tap water and I use reuseable water bottles. It saves money and the environment!
Wow...that puts things in perspective! I think that actions like these will help other realize what damage is being done to the earth. If people put a little effort, then it will make a difference in the long run. GO GREEN!
This is a great story - has anyone heard of the trash islands off the coast of San Francisco? There are two islands the size of Texas out in the ocean that are 80% plastic and trash! Just like these guys, they found birds, fish, and other animals that had eaten plastic and either died or gotten sick. . . . reusable bottles all the way, people. Think twice before you throw any messages out to sea in plastic bottles.