The Plastic Odyssey left France two years ago with the objective of finding ways to reduce marine plastic pollution in the 30 countries most affected. The vessel is currently in the Indian Ocean, exploring islands including Réunion and Mauritius. It is due to arrive in Madagascar on Tuesday.
The three-year expedition will take Plastic Odyssey around Africa, South East Asia and South America.
Its current four-month mission in the Indian Ocean is part of a partnership programme led by the Indian Ocean Commission (COI) – an intergovernmental project involving France, Madagascar, the Seychelles, Comoros and Mauritius, with support from France's development agency, the AFD.
"The main goal is to empower more local entrepreneurs and accelerate their plastic waste recycling programme," Alaric de Beaudrap, stopover coordinator for Plastic Odyssey, told RFI.
For this, the Plastic Odyssey crew – mostly made up of engineers – holds an intensive three-day training session called "On-board laboratory".
More than 25 Malagasy entrepreneurs have already applied for the programme, beginning on 30 April in the Tamatave harbour, in the capital Antananarivo.
Local engagement
One company Plastic Odyssey is in touch with is Andao, which makes school tables from recycled plastic bottle caps.
"There is a huge problem of school furniture in Madagascar. They're doing it locally at their own level. They would love to produce more of those recycled plastic tables for schools," explains de Beaudrap.
Plastic Odyssey is a 40-metre vessel equipped with low-tech machines used to recycle plastic waste.
Once collected and processed, this recycled plastic can be used for building structures, irrigation for agriculture, flooring and furniture.
The idea is to create local jobs with machines that can be built on-site. "All those machines are easy to operate and to maintain, and can be easily replicated," explains de Beaudrap.
"We have been in more than 30 countries so far, where we stopped with the boat and we can exchange knowledge and good practices."
Plastic Odyssey sets off on round-the-world mission to fight marine pollution
Plastic Odyssey also runs an education programme, with children aged between eight and 15 invited on board for a lesson on plastic pollution. "The main goal is to promote a plastic-free world to young people," says de Beaudrap.
Waste mismanagement
According to a report published in 2020 by the COI, "it seems that 92 percent of waste is mismanaged in Madagascar," says de Beaudrap, "and less than half of this plastic waste is collected".
There are several illegal dumping sites on the Indian Ocean island, most of them near residential areas.
"We are not yet talking about recycling in Madagascar, only collecting," he added. "There is an urgent need to prevent this waste from reaching the rivers and the sea because, in the end, this waste will pollute the Malagasy coastlines and ecosystems."
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The second major component of the stopover in Madagascar is a five-day mission around the Sainte-Marie coastal area, during which the vessel will be made available to scientists from the oceanographic institution Ifremer and the French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development, as well as universities of the Comoros and Madagascar.
"Our vessel will allow them to carry out surveys and observations of micro and macro plastics off the coast, and also to study the drift of these plastics, and what we call the link between plastics and megafauna," explained de Beaudrap.
"This scientific approach will provide a foundation for policymakers and research centres to better identify and understand the role of plastic pollution on ecosystems – as well as its sources."
After Madagascar, Plastic Odyssey will sail to Seychelles and the Comoro Islands, reaching Kenya in August, before its expected return to France at the end of this year.
