Woods Hole Sea Grant Holds Boat Shrink Wrap Recycling Collection

Woods Hole, MA – With improving weather and the arrival of boating season, local residents who shrink wrap their own boats for protection during the winter are invited to recycle it at no cost through a collection effort organized by the Woods Hole Sea Grant program.

Individual private owners who do not keep their boats at marinas are urged to contact Sea Grant by email at seagrant@whoi.edu or call (508) 289-2665 to make an appointment to drop the marine shrink wrap off at dedicated container in Falmouth. Boat shrink wrap is not an accepted curbside recycling product in the town, according to Republic Services of Cape Cod.

All strapping, buckles, vents, zipper doors, strings and other non-shrink material must be removed prior to acceptance. The wrap should be clean of debris to prevent disrupting the recycling process, bundled tightly (like a sleeping bag) and tied using an excess strip of the shrink wrap. Sea Grant reserves the right to refuse any wrap not meeting the requirements of the recycling facility.

Boat shrink wrap usage has increased greatly in the past 15 years or so, but historically the majority of it has ended up in the waste stream - despite the fact that it is low-density polyethylene (LDPE) #4 and completely recyclable. In fact, it is often turned into composite lumber used in docks and decks.