TAIPEI: A boat built completely from plastic bottles and other recycled materials, including old advertising banners, set sail in Taiwan to raise awareness about the marine environment. The trimaran, named the “Polli-Boat,” had as its main flotation system a series of interlocking plastic bricks made from plastic bottles with strengthened polyethylene terephthalate (PET), the most common plastic in use today. The seven meter (23 feet) boat has a flotation pontoon made from the 804 plastic bricks whose hexagonal shape allows them to lock together, withstanding the pressure of sailing. Used advertising banners are the sails. Each panel is capable of generating 72 watts, which powers an electric motor that propels the boat when there is no wind. Sponsored by the National Geographic Channel in Taiwan, ten designs were selected out of nearly 200 entries to compete for the most innovative boat built from recycled materials.
