A 12-seater punt made from recycled plastic will take its maiden voyage next month in Manchester’s Salford Quays, then tour the UK, taking the public out on ‘plastic fishing’ trips to raise awareness of the growing levels of plastic pollution in UK’s rivers and canals.

The boat has been built from plastic collected on previous plastic fishing trips and using funds collected from Starbucks’ 5p charge on drinks purchased in a paper cup across its 950 stores nationwide.

The plastic fishing tour will see the boat used for a week in each of Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester and across central Scotland. In each location campaigning charity Hubbub is partnering with local organisations and volunteers, who nominated their area to take part in the ‘Plastic Fishing Tour’ as part of a competition in partnership with the Daily Mirror to raise awareness on the issue of plastic pollution across UK waterways.
Jaz Rabadia, UK senior manager of energy and sustainability, Starbucks Europe Middle East and Africa, said: “We know we have a responsibility to help protect the planet and that’s why we’re so pleased to be able to continue to support Hubbub, and initiatives including the Plastic Fishing Tour. We look forward to seeing what happens as the boat travels to each city and helps communities clean up their local waterways.”

Plastic Fishing was inspired by a project in Amsterdam called Plastic Whale, which combines sightseeing with cleaning the city’s canals, and there are plans to build a fleet of such punts across the UK.

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