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Rescue boat made of plastic bottles

By Erwin G. Beleo
Published: August 16, 2013

The boat, a boat that is two meters long and 1.5 meters wide, was designed by architecture students of the Saint Louis College here through the supervision of their professor Architect Bobby Baradi for the Litter for Life.

SAN FERNANDO CITY, La Union – A group of government employees from this city has created a life-saving device made of recycled plastic bottles that can float in seas, rivers and in flooded areas.

The device, a boat that is two meters long and 1.5 meters wide, was designed by architecture students of the Saint Louis College here through the supervision of their professor Architect Bobby Baradi.

City Councilor Alfred Ortega, chair of the provincial disaster risk reduction and management council, said that the boat is made up of around 1,000 plastic bottles tightly joined by nylon cord and reinforced by still bars to make it durable.

“The whole body of the boat, the flooring and the barrier was made up of plastic bottles (1.5 liter size) while some small plastic bottles were used as additional floating devices. It would be operated manually,” he said.

Ortega, one of the leaders of the “Litter for Life” project, said they came up with the idea in making the device while they are conducting the Governance Trailblazer Project of the city government here led by Mayor Pablo Ortega.

“This (Litter for Life) project will empower the capability of barangay folks in disaster management using recyclable materials as life saving equipment,” Councilor Ortega said.

The project’s first beneficiary is the flood prone village of Cabaroan here.

Ann Hazel Flores, officer-in-charge of the City Tourism and Information Office, said the project was started in June this year with research works, trainings and will be turned over formally to the beneficiary on August 30.

Empty bottles of soft drinks, mineral water, and fruit juices were collected by “Litter for Life” members, in coordination with students and teachers from several schools in the city such as La Union National High School, Lingsat Elementary School, Sevilla Elementary School, San Agustin Elementary School, Pagudpud Elementary School, Catbangen Elementary School, Canaoay Elementary School, San Fernando South Central Integrated School, San Fernando North Central and Ilocanos Elementary School.

The bottles were first cleaned before the actual fabrication of the equipment.

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