The world's first dhow made out of recycled plastic and flip flops has set sail for the Island of Zanzibar in Tanzania from Kenya's Lamu Island.

People behind the project want to highlight the effect of up to 12 million tonnes of plastic waste being dumped into our oceans every year.

Big Innovation

Kenya's war on plastic waste has inspired innovators all over the country. One group of local fisherman have gathered 30 tonnes of plastic waste from their beaches including thousands of flip flops. This plastic waste is melted down and turned into plastic beans which is used in place of wood to build the dhow/boat and the best part is it lasts forever.

After 2 years of trial and errors and incredibly hard work the Flip Flopi dhow,appropriately named, took to the water of the Indian Ocean for the first time. It departed from Kenya to Zanzibar on the 18th of September last year. It set sail to raise awareness about marine plastic pollution. They are calling it plastic revolution and their goal is to end single use plastics.

The Flip Flopi dhow is expected to sail through Zanzibar in the coming months making stops in villages along the Indian Ocean coast. Those aboard will be alerting comma about the dangers of plastic waste and what they can do to protect their environment. But building this boat is not the end game. The team of boat builders say they will use experience for the next project to build a bigger show in order to have a voyage from Lamu to Cape Town.

 Did you know?

More than 12 million  tonnes of plastic enter the ocean every year. It takes at least 450 years for a single plastic bag to decompose?