The Michigan Boating Industries Association’s (MBIA) is encouraging marinas, boating storage facilities, and boaters alike to recycle any shrink wrap they remove from their stored boats. The high-quality material used to store boats over the winter is NOT biodegradable in landfills and IS useful after recycling to make a variety of consumer goods, according to Dr. Shrink, Inc., an MBIA member and partner in a multi-state recycling effort.

“This is really a no-brainer. Shrink wrap is easy to recycle and we encourage everyone who un-wraps their boat to recycle their shrink wrap instead of throwing it in the trash,” said MBIA President John Ropp. “Marinas and boat storage facilities actually save money by recycling instead of paying for waste removal.”

The Michigan Clean Marina program, a partnership between MBIA, Michigan Sea Grant and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, has been promoting shrink wrap recycling since 2007. In just three years, more than 50 Michigan marinas stopped between 115,000 and 200,000 pounds of shrink wrap from ending up in landfills, according to a study by Mondo Polymers. In 2007 alone 15,000 pieces of plastics were manufactured from recycled shrink wrap. Participating marinas reduced waste collection costs by $250 – $700.

For more information on recycling options in Michigan and surrounding states, visit www.michigancleanmarina.org and click on Shrink wrap Recycling Program. Information includes a list of marina drop-off sites for consumers and information on recycling programs like Dr. Shrink and in Emmet and Washtenaw counties for consumers and commercial facilities.

MBIA will continue to promote shrink wrap recycling on mbia.org and to members attending the Northern Regional Meeting in April.