Intro
I would like to begin by saying if you don't already, you should consider starting to recycle in whatever ways you can, no matter how small the changes you make. Every bit counts and every bit helps. Whether you go all out like I intend to with my idea or decide to just do your part or make a little extra cash by it or maybe not even change a thing at all, is entirely up to you. I would just encourage you to think about the future of this world and what you'll be leaving to your children or your family's children and just how things affect the ecosystem in general and the longevity of the planet.
What
A bottle island crafted by a man name Richart Sowa
Basically, I've had an idea in my head that I thought was pretty cool and creative to recycle plastic water bottles and use them to craft either a movable/dockable island or a bottle "yacht." I have recently decided that with the amount I've saved and can foresee myself acquiring in the near future (2-6 Months) that I will pursue the vessel first and then attempt the island once I have gone through the trial and error of methodology and find what works the best on a smaller scale at first.
This craft holds 5 people.. What?! :D
I drink about a 24 pack of water every 3 days and noticed just how much I was throwing away and thought that maybe I could put them to some sort of use.. So I began to collect/save them and compress them to save space, but made sure to not compromise the integrity of the bottles.
So far I have 17 bags of bottles averaging about 50 bottles per bag.
How I compress them and their relative size full vs crushed to the bag when full.
Before I continue, I want to note that once created, I will be using this vessel to travel around the ocean, diving into reefs and areas plagued by plastics and cleaning up the ecosystem. I want this to be a recycling project that continues to provide recycling. I also want to address that I am aware bottles/parts of the vessel may detach from my vessel and I have considered that fact, so in my plans of construction, I will make sure that everything, EVERYTHING, is tethered sufficiently, so that even if it comes loose from it's grouping, I will not be contributing towards the pollution I'm attempting to prevent/assist in cleaning up, I will simply be dragging dead-weight around. No worries. I don't wish to harm the planet any. I LOVE nature. :)
I will use high-tensile strength fishing line to tether the bottles together securely. This isn't the specific brand, just a photo to give visualization to my idea.
Trials
In my trials, I will calculate buoyancy and water displacement for the different setups I create. I will also be taking into consideration a number of possibilities as a safeguard, an example being, I will account for 200 bottle loss per month from punctures due to attacks by crocs/sharks/big fish w/teeth. Now obviously this probably won't happen at all or at any substantial or consistent rate.. but by adding that compensation in, it will not hurt my buoyancy and it will provide a safeguard in the event a scenario like that takes place.
I've also seen articles about a new bio material that eats up plastics that may be put into our ecosystem soon to deal with the issue of all the plastic waste, so I will need to research that some more as well and if that is a possibility, I will consider coating the bottles (where necessary) in a polyurethane (or whatever material is best suited to be decay resistant toward the strains) coating.
The major issues for bottle loss/puncture that I will be considering will be debris, snares, bottoming out, structural failure in bottles, erosion over time and extensive exposure to intense heat/cold. I will finish up my research on these areas before I conduct the beginning construction phases and I will experiment with different types of bonding for the bottles.
Water-proof glue MAY be one way I use to secure parts together.
The vessel will be fairly large. I do not know the dimensions yet though as I haven't gotten a count on the amount I have, but I intend to make (at minimum) 2 rooms, a common area below deck, a bridge, a main deck and a 2nd floor deck. Propulsion will be handled by an engineered cycling rig with a plastic propeller (so that if damaged, another can be crafted easily to replace it and get back into commission) and steering will be a simple multi-bladed rudder (most likely made out of plastic too).
Another way I had considered grouping bottles, but in a more neat array and tethered together still even within the netting.
Once my trials are complete and I find out how viable this is and how long I can expect it to last for, I will either undergo construction or consider it an idea that sounded great, but wasn't viable and move on to my next project.
I mean, worst case.. each of these bottles is worth 10cents+ when brought to certain recycling centers in certain states and I have quite a bit. It could pay for a trip to visit some family! :)
Farming?
Another idea I had considered was starting a bottle farm on my vessel for sustainability while out at sea and a variety of food as opposed to just fish/rations. I've done a lot of research on all the possible uses for bottles and I found these to be quite enticing as I wish to farm in some way in my life as well.
Planters being fixed to walls seemed like a great idea to me!
The above picture would be one way I could successfully bring my idea to fruition. I could place planters in that fashion along walls on the outer edges of the cabins/2nd floor and grow crops while on my travels! This would also save counter space and living space, or nice-smelling flowers could be put on walls inside the vessel to give the rooms and cabin a nice aroma! I could also use tabletop planters that are self-watering for the most part so they wouldn't need to be tended to as often.
Hello little plants! :)
Why
Why would I do this? What's the point?
Well, I have an engineering mind and it excites me to undertake projects, especially those that involve physics! I LOVE physics, it has always been my favorite subject since the 7th grade all through college! In addition to that. These bottles (800+~ that I have) would just be waste otherwise as well. Put in some landfill with my regular trash.. or I would have to pay to have them recycled in my area, which I do not believe in. Doing things that benefit you and others shouldn't cost you, in my opinion, so when I can avoid it and still reach a goal, I take the free path.
Another reason I'm doing this is I want to travel more or just adventure more in general and what better way to do that than to sail out on the high seas?! I'll be a damn bottle pirate! Without the stealing of course! ;) Just a different mission, one of refreshing and healing our planet, even if only by a microscopic bit.
Building Phase/When
I hope to undertake this project as soon as possible, but by my estimates, I'll need close to 1600-1800~ bottles to create a vessel of my minimal design that's not too claustrophobic. Once I begin the building phases, I will update everyone with the progress day to day.
Where
I live in southern Florida, so I am surrounded by water. I live right by the Tampa Bay, so I will have no issues launching once I finally get things built. Florida is alright, but it's hot ALL the time lol. Our winter was mid 70's.. so if you've ever considered living here, understand it's humid and hot almost year -round!
Summation
Save up bottles.. Check.
Create an idea/vision for using them wisely and recycling them.. Check.
Share my idea.. Check.
Create my idea.. To Be Continued. :)
I hope you enjoyed my idea and will enjoy seeing it come to fruition. I have many many other ideas that are both similar and completely different topics, so I hope that you find them interesting as well when I post them in the future.
Thanks for reading, hope everyone is having a great day!
If you have any ideas/input, ALWAYS feel free to comment on the post.
I love getting feedback, even if it's scrutiny or criticism.