Ahoy me hearties! London kids tidy Thames trash in plastic composite boat

A recycled composite material, Plaswood, has been used by a master boat builder in a project to make an ancient boat design from waste plastic.

Mark Edwards, who built a barge for the Queen, joined some London schoolkids to build ‘Poly-Mer’ – the world’s first boat made from recycled plastic waste, which launched in Canary Wharf to teach the children about plastic litter in the Thames.

Environmental-awareness charity Hubbub, behind the commission, hopes to use Poly-mer on fishing trips to clear plastic from the river.

Edwards, based in Richmond, built a twelve-seater punt from ‘Plaswood’, made of recycled plastics. He said: “It was a challenge but such a worthwhile project that experimentation began immediately. The lovely result was that since plastic wood cannot be effectively glued mechanical fastenings had to be used and the winner was the ‘clenched copper nail’, invented two thousand years ago and used effectively by the Vikings who ventured so far afield in their longships.”

Trewin Restorick, Chief Executive of Hubbub, said: “The problem of plastic pollution of the oceans and the terrible impact this can have on wildlife is now widely understood thanks to campaigns such as Sky Ocean Rescue.  What people perhaps don’t realise is that 80 per cent of ocean plastic comes from land and travels from our hand to storm drain, river or seas.  We built the ‘Poly-Mer’ to turn part of the problem into a solution and hope it will raise awareness that everyone can play their part to tackle plastic litter closer to home before it travels out to the ocean.  We’d love to hear from people in other areas of the UK who are interested in getting involved with plastic fishing as we expand the fleet.”