July 31, 2024 — Cape Cod and boating go hand in hand in the summer. In the off-season, many of those boats are covered in plastic shrink wrap to protect them from the elements, and when they are unwrapped in the springtime, the plastic is frequently tossed into the trash.

For the past six years, a Cape-wide boat shrink wrap recycling program has been diverting this plastic from limited landfill space or incinerators and recycling it. Through it, Cape residents can recycle shrink wrap at no cost as long as it is free from any non-shrink wrap material. Cape Cod boaters are responding to the program, with town collection totals building from 3.6 tons in 2019 to 25 tons in 2024. Collection from a private hauler increased the tonnage by 21 tons.

This year, the towns of Bourne, Chatham, Falmouth, Eastham and Wellfleet served as collection sites, overseeing the operation to make sure the wrap was not contaminated by non-shrink wrap materials like plastic strapping, ropes, or vents.  The towns bore the costs for transporting the plastic to a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) in Brockton operated by Republic Services as well as the associated fees.

“In 2021 and 2022, our team spent a lot of time trying to identify a facility that could process the wrap we collect,” said Stephanie Murphy of WHOI Sea Grant, one of the program coordinators. “It needed to be nearby, and we needed assurances that the plastic would be handled responsibly and not be shipped overseas to an unknown fate. In 2022, we found Republic Services’ MRF in Brockton, and we are really happy with them.”

This year, the program organizers, which, in addition to the town transfer station managers, include WHOI Sea Grant and Cape Cod Cooperative Extension, were able to facilitate the recycling of an additional 21 tons of wrap collected from boat yards by Cavossa Disposal.  “Now that we know the Brockton MRF can accept this material, we want to build the program by connecting private haulers and boatyards directly with the MRF to recycle their shrink wrap,” said Murphy.

“We are thrilled to have recycled 46 tons of shrink wrap on Cape Cod this year,” said Kari Parcell, Cape Cod Cooperative Extension’s regional waste reduction coordinator, “but it’s still a drop in the bucket when you look at all the boats that get covered in plastic.” There are more than 40 marinas and boatyards on Cape Cod. The average boat uses about 35 pounds of plastic to wrap, so a boat yard that handles 200 boats can amass more than three tons of waste plastic.More information about the Cape Cod Shrink Wrap Recycling Program can be found on the WHOI Sea Grant website at seagrant.whoi.edu/shrinkwrap.

###

Media Contacts
» Stephanie Murphy, WHOI Sea Grant, samurphy@whoi.edu, 508-566-3077
» Kari Parcell, Cape Cod Cooperative Extension, kari.parcell@capecod.gov

» View video of Cape Cod Shrink Wrap Truck Convoy
Trucks from towns across Cape Cod met up at Bourne Integrated Solid Waste Management Facility before heading to recycling facility in Brockton.

 

About WHOI Sea Grant

Based at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the WHOI Sea Grant program encourages environmental stewardship, long-term economic development, and responsible use of the nation’s coastal and ocean resources. The program supports research and education, and an extension program in collaboration with the Cape Cod Cooperative Extension. It is part of the NOAA-funded National Sea Grant College Program, a network of 34 individual programs located in each of the coastal and Great Lakes states. More information can be found at seagrant.whoi.edu.