Pilot Plans 10K-Mile Flight—Powered By Plastic Trash

He aims to get Cessna from Sydney to London in 6 days
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 26, 2013 12:03 AM CST
Pilot Plans First Plastic Waste-Powered Flight
The jet fuel of the future?   (AP Photo/Toby Talbot)

A pioneering British pilot is planning to fly from Sydney, Australia, to London on a plane powered by plastic trash. Jeremy Rowsell hopes to get his single-engine Cessna 172 to London in six days, making 16 stops to collect more fuel made from discarded plastic, the Telegraph reports. The diesel fuel, made from "end-of-life" plastic waste that cannot be recycled is a recent innovation that has been tested in cars but has never been used in flight. "Aviation leads technology in many instances, why not do it once again with this fuel?" Rowsell says. "If this plan works, it would solve some major environmental problems all at once.” (More plastic stories.)

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