This Unique Ship Sails the World, Collecting and Recycling Plastic Waste From Our Oceans

Plastic Odyssey, a 40-metre floating laboratory, is on a global mission to tackle plastic pollution by turning waste into valuable resources.

Docking at ports around the world, it empowers communities with sustainable recycling solutions and innovative technologies to tackle plastic waste at its source.

Every minute, about 20 tonnes of plastic waste ends up in the ocean. Most of this plastic comes from land, through rivers, streams and landfills and breaks down into tiny pieces once it reaches the ocean.

These microplastics harm fish and marine animals, disrupt entire ecosystems and even find their way into our food and water.Shockingly, only one percent of all plastic in the ocean is visible on the surface.

The rest sinks, becomes invisible and continues to cause harm, out of sight. But a rare initiative is tackling the problem not in the ocean, but on land, its source.

Plastic Odyssey: A floating lab with a strong purpose

Plastic Odyssey, launched from Marseille, France on 1 October 2022, is a 40-meter-long ship designed as a floating laboratory.

The ship is on a three-and-a-half-year global expedition to find, test and share practical and low-cost solutions to plastic waste.

Unlike other ships, it doesn’t explore the deep oceans, it helps communities prevent plastic from getting there.

Now moored at the Chennai port, this is the lab’s 31st stop and its only visit to India. The floating laboratory is manned by a crew of 20 people, including researchers, engineers, entrepreneurs and nine professional sailors.

Their aim is to show how plastic waste can be transformed into useful products and sustainable livelihoods.

Inside the ship: Where waste becomes worth

On board the ship, the space is divided into 10 areas, including analysis labs, pyrolysis stations, training rooms and demonstration areas.

At the heart of it all is the recycling workshop. Here, plastic is sorted into types, cut into flakes, and melted using machines the team built themselves.

The plastic paste is then shaped into useful objects such as tiles, soap dishes, furniture or wood-like boards that can be used for decking, bins and pavements.

These products don’t just serve as exhibits, they are prototypes for micro-factories that could be set up in communities, especially in developing countries, using simple equipment and minimal resources.

Chennai’s contribution: Waste to vision

In Chennai, the team is working on an exciting new prototype, making spectacle frames from recycled plastic.

In partnership with the Indian Vision Institute in Palavakkam, they are testing whether plastic waste collected by local communities can be converted into spectacles.

If successful, this could help disadvantaged groups access affordable spectacles while also generating income and cleaning up plastic waste.

The ship is also collaborating with local organisations like ROKA Chennai and Kabadiwala Connect, which focus on solid waste management in the city.

These partnerships help adapt global ideas to local needs and make the project more sustainable. Interestingly, India is already a low plastic consumer compared to countries like France.

Indians use just seven kilograms of plastic per capita every year, 10 times less than the French average. The crew sees India as a model for low-waste living, especially in practices like using stainless steel instead of disposable plastic.

A global journey with growing impact

Since beginning its journey, Plastic Odyssey has visited more than 30 countries, including Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia and Senegal.

Along the way, more than 400 entrepreneurs have come on board to exchange ideas, learn new technologies and start their own recycling ventures.

One of the ship’s biggest successes so far has been in Senegal, where 10 recycling factories are now being set up using the knowledge shared by the floating lab team.

In the Philippines, similar micro-factories are already up and running, recycling up to 300 tonnes of plastic each year. Each of these factories creates at least 20 new jobs, proving that environmental change can also bring economic benefits.The ship has also welcomed more than 5,000 school students during its journey,

What comes after: ‘The Impossible Cleanup’

Although the expedition will end within the next year, the work will continue. The team is already planning their next project, a new ship focused on restoring fragile ecosystems through cleanups in inaccessible, untouched places.

Their pilot project, done in partnership with UNESCO, was on Henderson Island, a remote site in the Pacific Ocean.

This next chapter of their mission is called the ‘Impossible Cleanup,’ and it will take their efforts to places where plastic waste is causing silent but serious harm.

Sailing towards a cleaner future

Plastic Odyssey is a travelling classroom, factory and think tank, bringing together ideas from around the world to solve a common problem.

At every port it empowers communities to take action, reduce waste and create value from plastic.

By stopping pollution before it reaches the ocean, the ship is proving that real change starts on land with local people, simple machines and the will to act.