In normal conditions, Water Rokit will fly to approximately 30 metres (100 feet) – about the height of a 10 storey building!

The Water Rokit launches itself automatically. This happens when the pressure builds up enough to release the pressure tube, which is around 25psi.

You must use a carbonated drinks bottle. Water Rokit is not suitable for any other type of bottle. The Water Rokit fins have been designed to work best with 0.5, 1.0 litre or 1.5 litre carbonated drinks bottles.

It is mandatory for all EU states to have phased out loose caps by July 2024 for plastic drinks bottles up to three litres. It’s part of an EU directive announced in 2018 that aims to reduce single-use plastic waste.

Loose caps have been banned as part of a larger plan to tackle plastic waste in Europe.

The bloc says that they are one of the most littered single-use plastic products on beaches.

At the moment large amounts are going unrecycled and ending up in our oceans. Researchers estimate that the production and incineration of plastic pumped more than 850 million tonnes of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere in 2019.

The new plastic caps are just one in a series of measures being pursued by the EU.

Packaging for fresh fruit and vegetables, mini hotel toiletries and fast food in restaurants will soon be banned under legislation agreed in March. Although it’s an uphill battle with major lobbying efforts against such moves and recent nerves around the European Green Deal.

The hope is that by having the cap attached people are less likely to throw them away as to do so you’d have to dump the whole bottle along with it.

EU member states are free to set their own design requirements as long as “the caps and lids remain attached to the containers during the products’ intended use stage.” So the design we’re currently seeing on drinks like Coke is not the only one possible, although it will be the most common given their market dominance. Other big drinks companies have already adopted Coca Cola’s design.

While it’s an EU policy to get rid of them, it has had knock on effects in other countries. Companies mass produce bottles and caps so it is complicated to make different styles for different countries. As a result major drinks companies are also rolling out the new caps in non-EU countries, like the UK, even though they are not legally obliged to.

The Water Rokit releases automatically at a pre-determined pressure, which means it is suitable for carrying out the same experiments many times. It is also a visual teaching aid, enabling pupils to see and understand science – it’s a fun way to teach Laws of Motion / trajectories and angles / measuring height, and so on.

Any age group can enjoy the Water Rokit, but it is not a toy, so children will need adult supervision. There is no upper “age limit” for the Water Rokit, though beware – it may unleash the inner child in every adult that launches a Water Rokit!

Yes. Looked after properly, your Water Rokit should provide many years of fun with countless take-offs. If the Water Rokit lands on a hard surface, e.g. concrete, then sometimes this may damage the carbonated drinks bottle, and you may need to replace it. Spares are available separately, like replacement pressure tubes, as well as the Water Rokit tail assembly parts if these get lost.

No. The Water Rokit is for outdoor use only. Under normal conditions, it flies to around 30 metres, making it unsuitable and unsafe for indoor use.

No. Although the Water Rokit won’t fly very high without a propellant fuel such as water. Try it and see for yourself!

Pick up the bottle at arm’s length and slowly undo the white top, with care, as you would with a fizzy drinks bottle that has been shaken.