Lithuanian Student Rows His Plastic Boat in Pasig River

Vaidas Sukys used to work in a shipping company before enrolling as an MBA student in September 2008 at the Asian Institute of Management in Makati City. Part of the course requirements is a project that has to be unique and requires students to develop, manage, and execute the project that has an element of risk. For this “walkabout” project, Vaidas’ shipping background inspired him to construct a boat, not from the usual materials, but from used plastic bottles that abound in the urban metropolis.

In making a boat from plastic bottles, Vaidas hopes to call attention and put a stop to the irresponsible disposal of these non-biodegradable materials. More specifically, he enjoins Metro Manila residents to preserve the environment by not throwing plastic bottles – or any garbage for that matter – into the Pasig River where he will sail his plastic boat on March 25, Wednesday. He will start from the Makati Park near the Guadalupe Bridge area at 1:00 pm.

Vaidas’ plastic boat idea has been brewing in his mind ever since he heard of a disturbing news that a giant pile of garbage floats in the South Pacific, the size of which is twice as large as Texas.

He will make an effort to sail 2-3 kilometers with his boat that took him six weeks to assemble with help from his friends and classmates, lots of bags, ropes, and around 10,000 plastic bottles. Vaidas’ classmates, Sandeep Kaul and Ron Acedillo will be with him during the interesting sail. After the sail, Vaidas plans to turn over the plastic bottles to a recycling plant. He hopes that his MBA project would inspire people to save the environment, even in their own simple ways.