Great Minds Work Together To Solve Problems

In February, more than 200 people logged onto the first Turning the Tide Online Summit, hosted by the BoatU.S. Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water. The event, held virtually, was part of the Foundation’s four-year grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to identify and remove abandoned and derelict vessels (ADVs) from our nation’s coastal waterways and Great Lakes. These ADVs are posing an increasing threat to navigation, the environment, and public safety.

The focus of the online event was to bring together diverse stakeholders from the marine industry to highlight programs, technology, partnerships, challenges, and successes with managing the ever-growing issue of this large-scale boating-related waste. Here are highlights on three issues affecting nearly every boater.

• Carbon Rivers, a company in Tennessee, has developed new ways to create a full circular economy for composites used in the marine, automotive, wind power, and aviation industries. Half of its business is recovering fibers, resins, and polymers from post-consumer, post-industrial materials, such as fiberglass and carbon fiber. This cost-neutral process produces 99.95% pure raw materials, which are put back into the supply chain. The other side of its business is working with companies to use “graphenes” (the pure carbon extracted from graphite) to make other materials more durable and increase life-cycle performance. For example, Carbon Rivers is testing new nontoxic antifouling coatings that don’t contain metals or biocides and deploying graphenes into composites and resins to create stronger, lighter weight materials.


• Composite disposal is a worldwide problem. Blue Parameters, based in the United Kingdom, developed a pilot program focused on finding a process or system to repurpose parts of old boats, similar to the work done by Carbon Rivers. It first stripped an old boat down to its components including metals, electronics, sails, lines, and composite waste. Next, the company sent some of the resulting composite waste through a DEECOM machine, essentially a large pressure cooker that uses heat and steam to remove polymers and contaminants from fibers. Until then, no one had tried putting contaminated composites (where the components of the composites were unknown) through the DEECOM process. Bingo! What came out was clean, like-new reclaimed fibers, ready for a new use.

Shrinkwrap Disposal

Did you know that shrinkwrap from one 25-foot boat is equivalent to more than 2,000 plastic shopping bags? Most of this material isn’t biodegradable; it breaks down into smaller and smaller microplastics, making their way into our waterways, where it’s consumed by marine animals and eventually makes its way up the food chain into our bodies.

• Ohio Sea Grant, which administers its state’s Clean Marina Program, a voluntary, incentive-based environmental certification program for boat marinas, has been working on this issue since 2006. Early on, the shrinkwrap recycling program was a slam-dunk; there was an in-state recycling company that provided free door-to-door pickups, and the waste was mechanically recycled into blocks used in roadway guardrails. At its height, the program had 125 participating marinas and greenhouses. However, when the service stopped being free some years later, participation dropped sharply, and OSG has been rethinking and rebuilding since, facing headwinds such as volatility in the plastics market and the constant education required to prevent contamination from zippers, vents, and nylon strapping. Still, the program has recycled more than 2.5 million pounds of plastic wrap. It continues to progress and diversify, now using the funds collected to support paying jobs for people who often have trouble finding employment otherwise.

• Michigan’s shrinkwrap recycling program hinges on a strong partnership between marinas like the Irish Boat Shop that offer collection locations; Dr. Shrink, shrinkwrap manufacturer and distributor; the Michigan Recycling Coalition, which coordinates shrinkwrap drop-off locations and pickups; and the Bay Area Recycling Community, which executes pickups, bales, and densifies the recycled shrinkwrap, and gets it to companies like TREX, which turns it into composite lumber. The cost is in the purchase of the recycling bags, produced by Dr. Shrink and made from the same material as shrinkwrap. In 2024, the program saved 134,000 gallons of oil, 1.1 million KWH of electricity, and 200,000 cubic feet of landfill space.


• Maryland Department of Natural Resources has been trying similar collection and recycling programs to deal with more than 470 tons of shrinkwrap waste each year – and facing similar challenges as other states mentioned. However, there are a couple notable exceptions: It’s encouraging state boaters to use less shrinkwrap, and instead, invest in reusable boat covers (“Think Before You Shrink”). While covers have their own downsides, the price of one semicustom boat cover is about the same cost as shrinkwrapping for two seasons. In addition, Maryland DNR has started working with a few marine retailers, such as West Marine, and municipalities to sell and distribute collection bags and assist with collections. These programs offer more control and less contamination than others, and there’s potential for these partners to play a bigger role with a smaller price tag.

Pyrotechnic Flare Disposal

Traditional pyrotechnic marine flares expire approximately every four years, and there’s no easy solution for safely disposing of them, especially considering that they can be toxic and present safety hazards. Only three facilities across the U.S. can handle pyrotechnic disposal, and transportation is expensive. Several states have been working on other options.

• The California Product and Stewardship Council, which works with cities and counties to manage difficult out-of-date products and sponsors legislation that promotes responsibility, detailed its expired marine flare collection events and efforts to promote reusable alternatives. In 2024, the group hosted eight events. Some 525 residents turned in more than 8,500 expired marine flares. The group also distributed more than 250 reusable eVDSD distress lights. While it was successful in getting expired flares out of storage, the cost of disposal came to at least $12/flare (not including the cost of eVDSDs).


• Ocean County, New Jersey’s Boater Disposal Programs looked at the existing flare collection events, like those in California, and devised its own pilot program. Partnering with the Ocean County Fire Academy, it applied for permits from the state EPA and fire marshal, purchased a modified dumpster, and set up four flare collection events (spring and fall). Residents dropped off expired marine flares, which were eventually burned in the dumpster. Over the course of the program, the group collected more than 3,200 flares, and the residue (ash) was stored in 55-gallon drums while samples were tested. Results showed the residue was nonhazardous, so it was disposed of in a typical landfill. The cost of the program dropped from $11.38 per flare in its first year (which included obtaining the dumpster and initial permits) to $1.48/flare the second year.