Plastic Bottle Boat Challenge

Pupils from Pipers joined over 6,000 primary school pupils from across the country on Wednesday to take part in the Plastic Bottle Boat Challenge. The aim was to set a new Guinness World Record for the simultaneous launch of a flotilla of plastic boats in order to highlight the impact plastic waste is having on oceans and the environment.

Led by our Head of Design Technology, Dr Bower, the pupils made their boats out of (used and recyclable) plastic bottles with the idea that the boats themselves would be recycled after the attempt had been made, showing the importance of reusing and recycling materials.

The idea behind the Plastic Bottle Boat Challenge, which originated at Queen Mary Sailing Club in West London, was to demonstrate the impact that plastic bottle waste can have on the environment and provide an opportunity to teach young people about the issues of plastic pollution in the oceans, the environment, recycling and the circular economy.

Plastic Facts - did you know?

• 275,000 tonnes of plastic are used each year in the UK, that’s about 15 million bottles per day.
• Most families throw away about 40kg of plastic per year, which could otherwise be recycled.
• The use of plastic in Western Europe is growing about 4% each year.
• Plastic can take up to 500 years to decompose.

We look forward to hearing whether or not the World Record attempt was successful and just how many plastic bottle boats were launched, retrieved and recycled.