A regional push to keep thousands of pounds of boat shrink wrap out of landfills is reaching its busiest day yet, as volunteers gather at the bayfront to help load massive piles of plastic for recycling. The effort, led by the Regional Science Consortium, runs today beginning at noon at Lawrence Pier near Perry’s Landing Marina, with organizers hoping to wrap up by about 3 p.m.
What started as a small pilot project has quickly grown into one of the region’s most successful seasonal recycling initiatives. Since April, marina operators and boat owners have been stripping shrink wrap from boats around Presque Isle Bay, removing straps, vents and zippers so the material can be properly processed.
Jeanette Schnars, Ph.D., executive director of the Regional Science Consortium, said the transformation from waste to roadway safety equipment is what keeps the program expanding.
“The really cool part of it, it gets recycled into something that’s actually usable and it’s these guardrails offset blocks,” Schnars said. “As you’re driving past and there’s guardrail on the roadway, if you look between the piece that’s coming up out of the ground and the horizontal piece, there is a plastic block that connects those two. And so, it’s recycled into something that’s used to protect thousands of miles of highway.”
Participation has surged this year, with marina partners placing more than 45 collection bins around the bayfront. Schnars said last season’s total — 1,800 pounds of shrink wrap, equivalent to roughly 247,000 grocery bags — may be multiplied many times over.
“Right now, we are anticipating that we have anywhere from seven to ten times that amount this year,” she said. “So, the impact to this area, in terms of what we’re diverting from the dumpsters and the landfill and into something usable, is going to be pretty significant.”
About 75 volunteers have already signed up for today’s loading event, but organizers say anyone can stop by to help. No registration is required, and volunteers are welcome to join at any time between noon and the project’s completion.
The collected shrink wrap will be loaded onto a truck bound for a recycling facility in Ohio, where it will begin its second life as highway safety material.