Boat made of plastic waste launched

A boat made from plastic waste and ‘powered by an electric solar engine’ has been launched on London’s waterways.

The Hubbub Foundation charity has led a collaborative effort to bring the vision for the boat – named ‘Poly-Mer’ – to life. It is aligned with Hubbub’s ambitions “to demonstrate that waste plastic does have a value and can be used to create a range of products”. It will now be used to clear more plastic waste from around London’s Docklands.

“Our ambition is to use the boat to offer plastic fishing trips to London schools and businesses as part of their corporate volunteering offer,” blogged Hubbub.

Meanwhile, the Turn the Tide on Plastic sailing team, led by Dee Caffari, is taking the message out onto the high seas by competing in the Volvo Ocean Race. It is drawing attention to the scourge of plastic waste; a problem that – by 2050 – could see oceans “contain more plastics than fish (by weight)”, according to one report.