Spiral Island: DIY Floating Island with 250,000 Empty Plastic Bottles

Posted by Alex in Pictures, Travel & Places on November 20, 2007 at 7:14 pm


In 1998, British eco-pioneer Rishi Sowa decided to build his own private island using nets filled with empty plastic bottles. He poured sand and planted trees, and called it Spiral Island:

The original Spiral Island was (as its successor will be) built upon a floating collection used plastic bottles, all netted together to support a bamboo and plywood structure above. Located in Mexico, the original was 66 by 54 feet and was able to support full-sized mangroves to provide shade and privacy, yet also able to be moved from place to place by its creator as need with a simple motorized system. (Quote and photo: ecoble)

As Rishi added more and more bottles and plants, the island "grew" to include a two-story house, a solar oven, and even three beaches! Hurricane Emily in 2005 put an end to Rishi Sowa’s Spiral Island - but he’s now building another one:

Well, Rishi is off to a good start, with a very successful interview by Japanese TV on September 8! He has started the new island, and here is the first picture:

Links: Rishi Sowa’s Spiral Island Website | Article at ecoble - Thanks Craig Kohler!



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COMMENT

3 comments to "Spiral Island: DIY Floating Island with 250,000 Empty Plastic Bottles"

  1. Homr Jay
    November 20th, 2007 at 11:36 pm

    So the when the old island was washed away, it left 250,000 empty bottles floating in the sea?

  2. Dingmo Ed
    November 21st, 2007 at 11:44 am

    yeah i second that question, what happened to all the bottles. This is curious, so he just threw some sand on top of a bag of plastic bottles? how does the island stay in place? im very confused

  3. Joe
    November 27th, 2007 at 8:58 am

    The whole island got thrown up on the beach from the hurricane. The plastic bottles didn’t get thrown into the sea. Also, he had a motorized system to move the island where he wanted it.


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