This ship sails around the world fighting plastic pollution. We take a look inside

Chennai’s skies and waters are in a never-ending tussle on who wears the colour blue best. But at the Chennai Port today a first-of-its-kind vessel is docked, its imposing blue-and-white hull inviting curious glances. The vessel, sized somewhere between a ship and a boat looks decidedly out of place among the bulk carriers and container ships that dot the ever-busy port. Not far away is a gaggle of students from St Antony’s Matriculation High School, Pallikaranai, in crisp uniforms, wearing crisper smiles, making their way to the vessel. This is their first time aboard a ship, let alone one with a purpose.

Grandly christened the Plastic Odyssey, this 40-metre long “floating laboratory” is a three-and-half year expedition that set sail from Marseilles, in the South of France, on October 1, 2022, and has since been collecting low-cost, sustainable plastic waste solutions from around the world. These include ideas, innovations and technology that contributes to plastic recycling and reduction. After recent stops at Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam and Malaysia, Plastic Odyssey is on its 31st stopover in Chennai which is also its only stop in India. 

Simon Bernard, a former merchant navy officer whose love for the ocean led him on this expedition says, “India is an amazing stopover for us both in terms of recycling and reduction. India consumes 10 times less plastic than France, that is approximately seven kilograms per person, per year. There is a lot to learn here, the use of stainless steel instead of single-use plastic for instance.” The now-CEO and co-founder reiterates that the expedition is not limited to recycling on board; it is about research and incubating programmes while working with local entrepreneurs and communities. 

“We have been to 30 countries so far. There are many initiatives, solutions, entrepreneurs, and changemakers around the world but they are not connected to each other. They are struggling on their own to find solutions. Our job is to make them connect, document all this knowledge and share it worldwide,” he adds.  

The 40-metre vessel is a work of art in itself: divided into 10 spaces complete with analysis laboratories, recycling workshops, display areas, pyrolysis zones and training rooms, it is nothing short of a research facility on water. With a 20-member crew, of which nine are professional sailors, the vessel has been home to researchers, engineers, activists and entrepreneurs for the last two-and-a-half years.

A tour, led by stopover manager Morgane Kerdoncuff, begins at its very heart: the recycling workshop. “This area is dedicated to transforming plastic waste directly into useful products. The first step is to segregate plastic by type. We have several machines that we built here on the ship, to transform the ship itself into a recycling factory,” says Morgane. The next step, after sorting, is to shred hard plastic and soft plastic into flakes using shredders. Then, the extruder melts the flakes into a chewing gum-like paste, which in turn can be moulded into usable products like lumber, tiles and other building material. 

“With this kind of lumber, a good alternative to wood, you can build furniture, barriers, decking, bins and tiles for pavements. This is how we give value to plastic waste in order to empower local communities to develop micro-recycling factories,” says Morgane. The workshop is also home to the many prototypes that were made onboard and discovered on their journey: think colourful soap dishes, hammers, building tiles, coconut shell bowls and chairs, tables and furniture that the crew use. 

The workshop leads to a smaller, darker room where two of the crew members are busy hacking through recycled material. Beside them, is a neatly stacked row of moulds in the shape of spectacle frames. Morgane explains, “Here in Chennai, we are trying to make spectacles out of recycled plastic. We are working with the Indian Vision Institute [in Palavakkam], to see if it is possible to build a model where people from underprivileged communities can bring plastic waste and make spectacles out of it. It is still in the prototyping stage.” ROKA Chennai, a residents welfare association working with solid waste management, and Kabbadiwala Connect are some of the other collaborators from the city.    

Driven by a staggering statistic that every minute at least 20 tonnes of plastic waste is dumped into the ocean, of which 78% comes from land sources, what makes this expedition actionable is its very intent. 

“Of all the plastic waste in the ocean, only 1% comes to the surface,” says Simon. And so, the idea is to stop the waste at the land source before it reaches the ocean. “We had about 400 entrepreneurs coming on board so far and sharing their practices, and launching factories in their respective countries. The aim is to have these long-running factories all over the world. We also had around 5,000 children on board who have discovered a lifestyle with less dependence on plastic. I consider that a big impact.” 

Senegal was their big win. There are 10 recycling factories being currently set up in this West African country. While in the Philippines, the team has facilitated factories that can recycle 300 tonnes per year with each of them creating at least 20 jobs. “We want to replicate this in every country,” says Simon. 

The students now snake their way past the recycling workshop, and prototyping room for a brief training on basic, daily steps to reduce plastic dependence. Saranya P, of ROKA says, “Deliberate on the life cycle of a product; what does it become at the end of its life cycle? Think about what we can do in our homes to assist this movement; carry your own bottle, bag and cutlery. Segregate your garbage at source. Join a volunteering committee. Wash your dabba… the list goes on.” The students pile out with ready answers; a field trip well done.

Next stop is Reunion Island, in April. Though the expedition is slated to come to a halt within the next year, the efforts won’t stop, assures Simon. “After this expedition, we want to build a boat to focus on restoring ecosystems through clean-ups. We want to focus only on places that are impossible to reach, and are hotbeds of biodiversity. The Henderson Island cleanup was our first step in this direction, done in collaboration with UNESCO. We are calling it The Impossible Cleanup.”  

Get in touch at plasticodyssey.org for information, or to introduce projectsto the team