Richie Sowa's Spiral Island is a floating island near the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico. It's an island made of garbage. Most of the garbage that's used in the construction of the island consists of capped plastic bottles that are put into bags made of netting and then strapped together to form a floating structure.
My vision of green is a little different than Richie Sowa's vision. I would never consider bringing 200,000 plastic bottles together so that I could throw them into the ocean and try to live on them.
Richie isn't just making his floating Spiral Island with plastic bottles! Richie uses old carpets, plastic bags, netting and a whole slew of other garbage too.
Richie is an irresponsible ecology preservationist poser, and he's not calculated the risks involved in what he did when he built his island of garbage.
I admit though, that Richie's idea does have 'cool' appeal, which is probably why the potential for his idea to turn disastrous is overlooked by a lot of people. He gets his little bit of fame while risking an environmental disaster. Luck was on his side when his first floating garbage island was destroyed in a storm. He was able to recover the bottles he used to make his first island - but the second time he might not be so lucky.
The bottles that are used to make Richie's Spiral Island should be recycled and not brought down to the ocean along with the old carpets, plastic bags, pallets and other garbage. Richie should know that there's a difference between garbage in the ocean and garbage in a landfill. If there are no other options - garbage is better in a landfill than floating in the ocean.
Find out more about Richie Sowa's Spiral Island on his SpIral Island Social Network.
Submitted by elileeyr (not verified) on November 4, 2011 - 7:55am.
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Submitted by Paula (not verified) on October 16, 2011 - 10:56pm.
No matter how amazing an idea is – no matter how ground-breaking or innovative or truly remarkable, there will ALWAYS be someone who criticizes it. If someone came up with a solution for world hunger and how to create peace on earth, there would STILL be some idiot preaching about how it’s a bad thing.
This article is proof of that. Cactii is one of these people. While the rest of the world marvels at such an ingenious idea, Cactii here tries to vilify it.
Granted, Richie Sowa is not saving the world, but he’s certainly not making it any worse (contrary to what Cactii is trying to making us believe).
People like Richie Sowa are not the reason why the world is in such bad shape. In fact, if all of us decided to use what was around us, grow our own food, and keep peacefully to ourselves, the world be a much, much better place to live!
Submitted by iamright (not verified) on September 28, 2011 - 4:58am.
i still don't understand why is this guy saying its wrong to have island of plastic bottles. is it only because you could not do it ?? please shut up and close this article!! dumbass
Submitted by Logic (not verified) on August 11, 2011 - 6:57am.
If he had reclaimed all the materials from garbage already floating in the oceans that would have been better. In fact this should inspire all of us to clean up the pacific using his idea. One rule, don't use any materials except ecological ones and that which is already floating in the oceans. Of course if in the process one finds something extremely dangerous which one is really able to dispose of safely then do not ignore it.
Submitted by Jesse (not verified) on April 15, 2011 - 5:39pm.
So if this man used pontoons instead of plastic bottles there would be no issue with this? The term garbage is used to demonstrate filth and disgust as to change our idea of his choice of building material. This man used a material that was free to him to make a place to live, if he built this from fiberglass, steel and wood it would be a house boat. A house boat does not encourage new and inventive ways to reuse materials. His island was able to withstand a hurricane with no impact on the environment. The mangroves holding the bags of bottles as well as providing shade is genius. This is a symbiotic habitat that should be studied further. If he were to create a fleet of these floating islands they would still produce less of a carbon foot print than a single critic’s home and car. But, this website did encourage a discussion on the subject and the author got one more hit on his counter so not all is bad.
Submitted by lime cutter (not verified) on March 6, 2011 - 9:00am.
I`m sure this has to be a troll but I like the the idea and think it would be good idea to link lots of these islands together for strength. Imagine a town made up of each island connected to its neighbors so it could move and flex in storms like the floating kelp. Also this could be very handy for when the sea levels rise.
Submitted by Petr reeman (not verified) on March 1, 2011 - 3:33am.
How sad to find this article. Everything that is great about the human species is embedded in this mans dream, and everything that is wrong is expressed is this self important idiot who wrote the critique.
Well done Richie...dream on.
Submitted by To Our Future (not verified) on February 22, 2011 - 12:03pm.
Ok it has been a long time since the last post. But I'll respond anyway.....I think Ritchie is a very intelligent man. How many people are homeless?? How many of them are hard working citizens?? How many high ranking government people make sure our o-zone layer is going to hell?? How many factories are dumping into lakes and rivers every hour hell every minute?? Why isn't solar power mandatory?? Eventually we will be a world that just ends up reusing everything anyway!! And as for the BP oil spill it was obviously staged in order to jack up the gas prices!! And if you don't believe that go to the gas station and try to get a gallon of gas!! We are a world of people who are so wrapped up in mundane frivolous stupidity that each nation officials make sure of so they can do what they want to our planet and we are to busy to see whats going on!! Honestly if we're gonna go green it needs to be drastic!! Stop driving cars, stop spraying anything, invest in solar power, and stop dumping!! AND REUSE EVERYTHING YOU CAN HOWEVER YOU NEED TO!!
Submitted by BUNDLE (not verified) on January 11, 2011 - 5:33pm.
cactii.
I also do not understand why you are fighting this battle. What is the difference between reusing PETE bottles as a raw material or buying a patagonia fleece made from recycled PETE bottles. paper as a raw material or paper re-manufactured as paperstone for countertops, plastic bags as a raw material or recycled into trex lumber or bathroom stalls?
The only type of recycling that is extremely beneficial is when a product is cradle to cradle, built to be recycled directly back into the same product that it once was......
If not, we are downcycling all of our raw materials and they eventually end up in the landfill anyway, get covered with membrane and soil, and then eventually we build on top of these "land islands" of garbage with million dollar homes, golf courses or public parks.
What sowa has done is no different. yes he may be a hippie free loader, but sounds like he has worked hard to develop his idea....i would not call him lazy.
I would put him in the same vein as michael reynolds building earth ships in the desert out of..... garbage.
Give him some credit for creatively reusing what is immediately around him, saving tons of energy and carbon by not consuming manufactured goods and living a pretty simplistic lifestyle. I am sure his carbon footprint and pollution output is much lower that all of ours.
Submitted by Sweet Liberty (not verified) on October 25, 2010 - 10:12am.
Recycling plastic can actually be worse for the environment. Remelting plastic takes more energy and throws out even more pollutants into the air than simply reusing the plastic in another way. Using it as landfill material if crushed is better. But the toxins of remelting plastic is a far worse option than even creating a Spiral Island.
The Spiral Island concept might add commercial value to harvesting the Pacific Garbage float for the construction of artificial land. It would have to be removed from its current location due to the strong currents that are breaking up the plastic. Small bits of plastic does hurt marine life. Utilizing it to build up Tuvalu would help sustain that island nation.
Submitted by Tanner (not verified) on October 19, 2010 - 11:22am.
If you consider the amount of garbage thats already in the ocean, hes really not having any impact at all.
Submitted by cactii on October 19, 2010 - 9:13pm.
That amounts to the same thing as what BP said with the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill.
"The Gulf of Mexico is a very big ocean. The amount of volume of oil and dispersant we are putting into it is tiny in relation to the total water volume." —Tony Hayward, May 14, 2010
Submitted by Jesse (not verified) on April 15, 2011 - 5:55pm.
This person’s comment does not need your clever use of a quote. He or she was merely stating that the risk is not as big as you were portraying in your article. The BP disaster’s PR team is paid a lot of money to say nonsensical things like that, not you. So if this man’s floating clubhouse was dumping oil into the water, then the quote would be appropriate. You seem to be desperate to defend your sole opinion. Who is on an island now?
Submitted by cactii on April 15, 2011 - 8:07pm.
This is true if only one person does it, but Richie is attracting a following of people that are trying to achieve the same as him - build islands out of re-used materials like PET bottle and old carpets. If he attracts 100 people, or more, who all decide to do the same then how many PET bottles and old carpets is that in the ocean waiting for a storm to knock it all down? What happens when people (I've seen someone on Ritchie's site asking about it already) try to do this in fresh water sources like rivers or lakes? Richie is bad enough, encouraging others to do it is looking for trouble.
Submitted by Jesse (not verified) on April 16, 2011 - 11:37pm.
This man is a harmless fool. Millions of corporations are polluting our world every second of everyday and are doing so legally. Aircraft carriers don't bring their trash home with them, they throw it overboard. I think we are on the same side, but you really need to choose your battles wisely. Silly advancements often breed extraordinary ones. Maybe we will have the solution to holding earth dams secure with mangroves. Or floating islands filled with wind turbines. Does this man have the answer to saving the planet, god no! But for some, they see a man that lives a low impact life, far less impact then you and I. We are talking about something the size of a tennis court, its not that big of a deal keeping in mind that he hasn't really polluted anything. In fact he has done the opposite he has lived for years without electricity. What boat that size doesn't have carpet. There are 5000 people on an aircraft carrier each drinking 2 sodas a day, they don't recycle anything. That is a fight worth fighting. It will make you sick. I wish plastic bottles did not exist, but they do, we are a lazy society. Let's fight that battle. Plus, I really liked Waterworld.
Submitted by met the man (not verified) on October 12, 2010 - 8:07pm.
I'm not debating whether Spiral Island is ecologically responsible or not. Rather, my opinions are first-hand. I actually met Richie one night at a resort in Tulum back in 2002. Spent a couple hours with the guy, and then he invited my group to his island the next day. It was anchored in Puerto Aventuras at the time, and indeed we drove up and spent a couple of hours on his island. Yeah, it was pretty cool and whatnot, and Richie is indeed a nice guy; he wouldn't hurt a flea.
You want to know what Spiral Island is all about? It's not about ecological responsibility. It's not about being green. In fact, it's not about anything "profound" by any conceivable strecth of the imagination. Bottom line? He's a drifter who's found a way to make a living without having to work. That's it. Plain and simple. That's what Spiral Island is all about.
Submitted by The Real CCM (not verified) on September 10, 2010 - 12:07pm.
it is people like you who make others not try at all. what Rishi is doing is just fine. as the island grows older the whole thing grow together. it isnt like he just thru 200,000 bottles into the ocean to pollute it.
Submitted by geog-grad (not verified) on July 30, 2010 - 7:43pm.
But surely its better to reuse the plastic bottles than recycle them? Think of the waste hierarchy - reduce, reuse, recycle.
Submitted by cactii on August 1, 2010 - 11:23pm.
PET is really easy to recycle - it doesn't have to be reused as a floating dump in the ocean. If you don't have the floating dump in the ocean you wouldn't have all the OTHER garbage needed to support that island structure too.
Eg: Old carpets, Plastic bags (made out of that tarp-like material), nylon rope.
I prefer the the first out of the three R's - to reduce my usage of all plastic products - it's hard, and it's impossible to be 100%, but every bit of reduction helps. Programs like not selling bottled water in public schools is a good start. It'd be great if the beverage companies brought back the glass bottles that we had until the late 1980's.
Submitted by John Pollard (not verified) on July 30, 2010 - 3:29am.
It sounds like the Author has some ego problem with Mr Sowa here. I do not see the problem with this at all....why do you not bleat about the Pacific Garbage Dump (100 million tons of plastic 8 times the size of the U.K) floating in the ocean).
Mr Sowa's (unlike your site) is not claiming toMake A Beter World. He is just a simple recluse who wastes no water, grows plants and picks up garbage that otherwise would probably make its way out to see anyway (after it is dumped there).
But if you really want an idea on what better to do with Garbage in the Oceans (whether it is brought there or dumped there) then read this...[Link Removed]
As for your site....it seems to me (and this is my first and last visit) that you are just another site driven by adverts for run of the mill Green Technology poducts.
Get real.
John
P.s About 60 million tonnes of the Pacific Garbage Dump is from the US.
Submitted by cactii on August 1, 2010 - 11:30pm.
I have commented about the Pacific Garbage Dump John. You can find what I said about it here: http://www.beinggreenonline.com/water/my-thoughts-great-pacific-garbage-...
When I first read about the Pacific Garbage Patch in mainstream news - I was reminded of the river of plastic garbage that I seen flowing between the island of Sumatra and the island of Java in Indonesia.
Submitted by Devin (not verified) on April 4, 2010 - 9:21am.
I'm sorry I I don't think you have any idea what your talking about
Submitted by Kelley (not verified) on May 19, 2010 - 5:35pm.
I see no validity in the criticism of this article. I see an incredible amount of inexperience with the reality of the world and unabashed envy. Do you presume your car will blow up everyday you turn the key? Are your expectations of utopia existing anywhere in the light of day?
Improvements in the right direction far outweigh the accusations you've leveled. Worst case scenario for Spiral Yland it does break up into discrete units that are retrievable. Worst case scenario for all other government promoted ventures? One failed BOP in one oil rig results in what? Pick your battles better young man. This one is far too ridiculous to fight.
Submitted by cactii on May 19, 2010 - 9:11pm.
Kelly, if it were up to me there would be no drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, but it's not and that subject has nothing to do with Richie's Spiral Island.
Let's say Richie "inspires" just 1,000 people to build their own Spiral Island - that'd mean there'd be TWO BILLION PET bottles and a whole other load of garbage floating around in the ocean because of some crazy idea that Richie decided to try.
Submitted by cactii on April 5, 2010 - 12:32am.
That's fine, everybody is entitled to their own opinion and I have voiced mine.
Maybe you can tell me what the real benefit of the spiral island is.
Maybe you can tell me how making an island of garbage in the ocean (to supposedly create new land) is better than trying to use the land that we already have.
Maybe you can tell me how Richie has secured all the garbage he's used (to built an artificial island) against the danger of something wiping it out and destroying it and carrying all that garbage out to sea.
Maybe you can give me some reasons why you think that I don't know what I'm talking about.
Submitted by Richart Sowa (Rishi) (not verified) on September 12, 2010 - 8:13pm.
Hi, I feel quiute sure I have replied to this before but maybe I,m wrong, so in brief because I have a few bottles to tighten and put into used fruit bags, I shall explain why I believe it,s a good idea to create land in this way.
It is quite understood by many that because of deforestation and expanding cities there are less green areas and so less potential to convert the higher and higher carbon concentrations in the air from and exponentialy increasing burning of fossil fuels. A floating Island as the one I am creating helps to balance this by adding oxygen to the atmosphere. If I were to live on land in the conventional way I would most probably be adding to the carbon problem. I have planted mangroves which root through the base and give amazing strength, even corals grow well on the bags of bottles and an ecological habitat grows very fast. Shade in the tropics is vital for marine life to prosper and so many forms of life welcome the cooler water under the floating Island.
peace, Joy and love
Submitted by shy-but-green on February 9, 2010 - 6:30pm.
Sounds to me like Richie is an ecological psychopath who's able to hypnotize an audience with his "green" bull.
Submitted by shy-but-green on February 9, 2010 - 5:47pm.
You're a dumbass
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