A Kenyan boat shows new uses for old plastic

A traditional Kenyan sailing vessel made from recycled plastic will be a highlight of the upcoming fourth United Nations Environment Assembly, or UNEA, scheduled to take place from March 11 to 15 in Nairobi.

Siim Kiisler, president of the fourth UNEA and the Estonian Minister of Environment, said he was greatly inspired by the boat, or dhow, which was made entirely from reused plastic and flip-flops collected from Kenyan towns and beaches.

Kiisler said the message to participants from 193 countries will be: Change business models, reduce the production of plastic products, phase out single-use plastic products, and change economies from linear to circular, where all the waste will be reused.

Kiisler gave the remarks during a recent celebration of the completion of the nine-meter, rainbow-colored dhow's 500-kilometer voyage from Kenya's Lamu Island to Tanzania's Zanzibar Island.

As the world's highest-level decision-making body on the environment, the Environment Assembly will bring together governments, entrepreneurs, activists and major international organizations to share ideas and commit to action.

"I believe the dhow will inspire the participants and give them a strong message that it's time to act and reduce the 12 million tons of plastics entering the oceans annually," he said.

The 14-day expedition, which was backed by the UN Environment Programme Clean Seas Initiative, included creating awareness of marine plastic pollution among Kenyan and Tanzanian communities living along the beaches.

Ben Morison, co-founder of the Flipflopi Project, emphasized that the boat demonstrates that single-use plastic doesn't make sense.

He said they are grateful to be invited to participate in the 2019 UNEA, hoping that people will be inspired to find their own ways to repurpose 'already-used' plastic.

Ali Skanda, the FlipFlopi project's chief boat builder said a scientist and a lecturer from a British university were on board during the voyage, whose mission was to collect micro-plastic in the ocean from Lamu to Zanzibar for testing.

"The lecturer will send all the collected materials to the university lab for testing after which he will share the results with the Flipflopi team," Skanda said.

At 10 meters in length and weighing about 5 metric tons, the Flipflopi boat is a considerable achievement by Ali Skanda and a team of volunteers.

The dhow's keel, ribs and structural elements were all made from recycled plastic including bottles and bags, while the hull and decking was covered completely by re-purposed flip-flops.

Despite the unusual materials, the vessel was constructed by local craftsmen using traditional methods.

Skanda said their successful expedition to Zanzibar gave the builders confidence that their dream to build a 20-meter boat that could sail to Cape Town in South Africa and Asia in 2020 is achievable.

Ben Morison said construction of the larger boat will be a bigger engineering challenge, hence the project members want to engage an engineer and a naval architect from China, because the country has advanced sailing technology. China is also their preference because of its deepening relationship with East African region.