David de Rothschild Presentation

Inspired by Thor Heyerdahl’s legendary Kon-tiki expedition across the Pacific Ocean, David de Rothschild set sail from San Francisco in March of 2010, landing in Sydney four months later. Like Heyerdahl who made his voyage on a rickety looking raft, de Rothschild’s highly unusual vessel was called the “Plastiki” because the catamaran’s hull consisted of 12,500 reclaimed plastic bottles.

In the U.S., 12,500 plastic bottles are used every 8.3 seconds and de Rothschild wanted his Plastiki project to bring attention to the problem of waste. With his famous name (he is part of the well-known banking family), dashing good looks and audacious vision, his madcap adventure/environmental statement has given him a platform to bring about change.

He has had other adventures as well. He traversed Antarctica and on another occasion spent 100 days crossing from Russia to Canada, making him the youngest British citizen to reach both geographical poles. He is also an author, organic farmer and at one time a student of naturopathic medicine.

De Rothschild will speak about the Plastiki expedition and what we can do to reduce waste.