Sailing isn’t something I know much about. I live about as far inland as it’s possible to get in the UK before you start heading out the other side. But I recently read two marine related articles about the circular economy in the same week. They’re both nice examples of industries taking responsibility for the specific forms of waste associated with their sector, and finding good solutions.
The first is sails, the defining feature of a sailing vessel and built for performance with specialist materials. Sails are often made from composites, using polyester, nylon, and advanced materials such as kevlar or carbon fibre. This gives them unique combinations of strength and flexibility, but it also makes them practically impossible to recycle. There are no formal sail recycling facilities anywhere in the world, with an estimated 97% of them going to landfill.
A not-for-profit called Clean Sailors has taken on the challenge, creating an upcycling platform called Resail. Used sails are donated and then re-used in a variety of ways. Sometimes sails can be re-cut and refurbished for smaller boats. Some can be turned into bags, jackets or fashion items, like the ones made by Italian company Junkle. A project called Sail to Shelter uses the huge sails from racing yachts to make shade sails for playgrounds, or tents for humanitarian emergencies.
Resail run drop-off points in harbours all over Europe, but at this point there is a limit to the artisanal re-use of sails. Upcycling a sail is very hands-on and bespoke, and applications are limited. It would be easier if sails were designed and made with the end of life in mind, and Resail are working with sail manufacturers to change this.
Something similar is happening with 0rCA, recently profiled in the Guardian. I hadn’t realised this, but fishing boats in UK waters only use nylon nets for six months or so. As they’re used they become more opaque and less effective. Fish can see them underwater and avoid them, and so nets are constantly replaced to keep yields up. Harbours pay for these to be taken away and disposed of, with old nets ending up in landfill or incinerated.
0rCA, a one-man operation at present, takes old nets and processes them into new pellets for the 3D printing industry. It can be done on site, with all the required machinery fitting into a single shipping container. The plan is to set up networks of such recycling points in fishing ports, dealing with the problem at source. There’s no lack of demand either, as plastics companies are keen to source recycled plastic from the ocean and buff their own green credentials in the process.
For decades, industries have worked to a linear model, taking resources to make things that are then thrown away at the end of their useful lives. Bit by bit, people are identifying ways to end that default model and close the loop on different forms of waste. And it makes me wonder what’s next. Is there a kind of waste that is specific to your industry or your locality? Who’s taking responsibility for it, and what hidden value might there be in it?
The Earthbound Report 