The Veolia foundation is a partner of Plastic Odyssey: the first ship powered by plastic waste

The Plastic Odyssey team has designed a catamaran, which runs on fuel produced by recycling plastic waste. A prototype was launched today at Concarneau (France), in the company of Brune Poirson, Secretary of State for Ecological and Inclusive Transition, and Roland Jourdain, a sailor.

26,000 tons of plastic waste are poured into the ocean each year. We need to take action on land to stop this flow”, explained Simon Bernard.

The former merchant navy officer, with the assistance of a team of engineers, dreamt up the Plastic Odyssey, a 25 m catamaran powered by non-recyclable plastic waste, transformed into diesel and petrol by pyrolysis. This unique process was developed by SARP Industries, a Veolia subsidiary.

The construction of this ecological vessel will start in 2019. In 2020, the vessel will set out for a 3-year world trip, stopping in locations with high levels of plastic pollution on the coast: plastic waste will be collected, sorted, and transformed during each leg. Some of the plastic will be treated and recycled in workshops, with entrepreneurs and local tradesmen. The rest will be converted into fuel for the vessel.

Each stop will provide an opportunity to ensure the awareness of as many people as possible of the importance of reducing plastic pollution in the oceans.