Sustainability in the Leisure Marine Industry, an informative article published in IBI News October edition. Interested in the subject? Want to know more? Like to join the debate and get involved? Then please join us at #SIMI16 - Powered by METSTRADE in Amsterdam – Monday 14th November. Register now at: www.regonline.com/SIMI16

1. 20 OCTOBER 2016 | International Boat Industry www.ibi-plus.com
Markets & Regions
environment | end-of-life boats
F
ollowing on from industry debates about the
recycling of “dead boats” now comes the time
to look forward and consider the concept of
life cycle assessment and onwards towards a circular
economy for the boating world.
The discussion around end-of-life boats (ELBs)
has come to prominence in the last few years and has
been the subject of a couple of conferences, which
have sought to bring attention to the problem, and
engage the leisure marine industry in
seeking solutions.
Quite a lot of column inches
have been dedicated to the issue
and − after it being an almost
‘taboo subject’ for an incredibly
long period of time − it has finally
now become a discussion point
amongst many stakeholders in the
boating industry.
So, for how long has this
environmental disaster in waiting
been brewing away in the background? The answer,
quite incredibly, is for well over half a century!
The main challenge − although by no means the
only one − is the fact that composite construction
of boat hulls from fibreglass (GRP) created a
manufacturing boom during the 1970s and 80s,
leading to large volumes of virtually indestructible
boats flooding the market.
The story goes that the late Connie Ray, who
founded Sea Ray Boats in the US, was a pioneer
in fibreglass construction and constructed his first
16ft family runabout from GRP in 1959. Even more
tellingly, he had previously made coffins from the
same material and chose it for making his boats, as he
knew that it would never rot away, even when buried
under the ground.
A conference held as part of the METSTRADE
show in Amsterdam last November, entitled ‘The
Future of Yacht Recycling’, brought together a lot of
data and information. This revealed that progress is
being made with dismantling networks or individual
operators already active in places like France,
Sweden, Japan and the Netherlands. But this is so
far largely unregulated by any national authorities,
and with limited options for the economically and
environmentally acceptable disposal of the bare
composite hulls.
GRP boats flooding the market
A brief revisit to the statistics is probably helpful
at this point to give some perspective to the scale
of the challenge: six to seven million leisure boats
in Europe, and anything between 30 to 40 million
worldwide. These numbers are considered to be
a conservative estimate, as boat
registration schemes enabling
accurate data gathering are patchy
around the world.
Assuming that just 50% of these
are of composite construction, that
already points to something like
20 million boats that are in the
“doubtfully recyclable” category
and that is without more being
added annually.
We know for sure now that half a century can
pass us by while we merrily enjoy our leisure time on
the water and during that time the companies that
produce boats have been obliged to follow what has
now been termed as the linear “take, make and dispose”
model. The problem being that the “dispose” part has −
to a large extent − become an environmental barrier at
the end of the line. This is unless a way is found to turn
GRP composite materials into a commercially saleable
recycled component at an economically viable cost/
resale value. To make it logistically possible for bare
hulls to reach the point of process is a big ask indeed.
Ringing the changes on the debate for the disposal of “dead boats”
comes the concept of Life Cycle assessment in the boating world
Words: peter franklin
Sustainability in the
leisure marine industry
 Nearly 20
million GRP boats
are in the recyclable
category and that is
without more being
added annually
Composite
construction
of boat hulls
led to large volumes of
virtually indestructible
boats flooding
the market

2. 21International Boat Industry | OCTOBER 2016www.ibi-plus.com
Responsible industry
What are the alternatives going forward? Well, it’s
like a football match, a game of two halves.
The first half must be a continued and concerted
effort by the boating industry to address the ELB
problems. This can only be achieved by continuing
the good work already embarked upon; sharing
information, developing practical guidelines and
showing legislative authorities that the industry and
its users, including boat owners, can pool resources
and work together across all sectors to minimise the
negative impact of a historically created set
of challenges.
The second half is to look boldly and creatively
towards the future.
It’s obvious that any responsible industry would
not wish to repeat the mistakes of the past, but will
want to keep sharply in mind that profitability and
growth must be achieved whilst adjusting to the
realities of a new world order that demands higher
standards of environmental responsibility.
Life cycle assessment
For instance, the concept of life cycle assessment
(LCA) has already been quite widely adopted in other
industries, notably and recognisably in the automotive
world. It could be argued that, had a thorough LCA been
done on composite constructed yachts 30 years ago,
then we would not be where we are today − accepting
for the sake of the argument that the LCA concept had
not been devised back then.
Bearing in mind that a GRP boat is hardly ever
disposed of due to its hull being badly deteriorated,
and how its ultimate disposal cost has become
economically and environmentally unacceptable,
maybe there would have been more thought into
how it could be designed for “upcycling” rather than
dismantling and “recycling”.
Modular design and construction − which allows
a complete upgrade of interior and propulsion/
energy systems of, let’s say, every 15 years whilst
retaining the original basic composite hull − would
theoretically make recycling of the hull unnecessary;
at least for over half a century and quite possibly
longer. In addition, the average low hours of use
of the typical family leisure yacht has to be factored
into the LCA when it comes to estimating the boat’s
carbon footprint.
One has to ask the question: Is there any point in
kitting out a boat with the latest hybrid energy and
propulsion systems that boast low carbon emissions,
when it may only actually be used for a few weeks of
the year?
A thorough life cycle assessment ‘from cradle
to grave’ might reveal that the total negative
economical/environmental impact far outweighs any
“perceived” benefits when everything is taken into
account, including energy/raw material input and
eventual disposal costs of the equipment. Moving on
from this notion but in more or less the same vein, we
are of course heading towards the discussion about
the circular economy (CE).
Circular Economy closes the loop
Much like LCA, the CE concept has become an
instrument for the industry in general to adopt a
whole new thought process aligned with modern
day environmental expectations. The CA concept
is designed to lead the industry away from the

3. Markets & Regions
environment | end-of-life boats
23International Boat Industry | OCTOBER 2016www.ibi-plus.com
aforementioned “take, make
and dispose” model. And
rather appropriately for our
industry, one of its leading
proponents is sailing legend
Dame Ellen MacArthur, who cites her
single-handed circumnavigation in 2004,
and her reliance on finite resources for 72
days at sea, as her inspiration for starting
her Circular Economy Foundation.
There is no need to attempt a more
comprehensive description of what CA
actually means than the one used by Dame
Ellen’s Foundation website: “A circular
economy is one that is restorative and
regenerative by design and which aims to
keep products, components and materials
at their highest utility and value at all
times, distinguishing between technical
and biological cycles.”
Significant savings
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation
commissioned a very comprehensive
report in 2012, which set out in detail
how a switch to the circular economy for
industrial manufacturing could deliver
tangible financial benefits. It pointed out
that an estimated US$340bn a year of net
savings in material costs could be achieved
just within the European Union.
It went on to say that the sectors where
the most significant savings could be
achieved are motorcar, machinery and
equipment manufacturing.
Surely then, we have to look to other
industries in order to see examples of how
life cycle assessment and circular economy
are already working in practice, and to
initiate discussions within the boating
industry as to how we can profitably adopt
similar process thinking.
The Netherlands, always a free-
thinking and an environmentally focused
business culture, is justifiably touted as
a ‘breeding ground’ for circular economy
projects in their general industrial sector,
the Dutch marine industry association
HISWA says. In a recent report the
association highlighted an example of
the kind of volumes that can benefit from
waste reduction; 65 billion tonnes of raw
materials entered the world economy in
2010, and this will rise to 82
billion tonnes by 2020.
They emphasised that
in a circular thinking
process “the priority shifts
to upgradable, re-usable
products, and to long-lasting
goods and renewable energy”.
HISWA went on to give real
life Dutch examples: Amsterdam
Schiphol Airport has 99% recyclable
baggage belts and benches made of
elephant grass. A Rotterdam cycle path is
made of 100% recycled asphalt.
The Dutch government has opened a
Circular Expo at Schiphol airport, where
it boasts a “Living Lab” with around 30
innovative corporate and governmental
examples of circular economy thinking.
Already major consumer product
manufacturers such as Philips Electronics,
Unilever, Nike and Renault have all
committed their organisations to make the
shift to the circular economy.
Presumably nobody would argue
that the timing is perfect to explore how
manufacturers in the leisure marine
industry can start to adopt these process
methods for their own benefit and that of
their customers and shareholders.
A conference in Amsterdam designed to
enable this exploratory exchange of ideas
and experiences will follow a logical path
through current trends in recycling, user
demographics, life cycle assessment and
the circular economy.
Entitled ‘Sustainability in the Marine
Industry’, the conference follows on from
last year’s ‘Future of Yacht Recycling’
and will take place at the start of the
METSTRADE show at Amsterdam RAI on
Monday 14th November.
The event is powered by METSTRADE
and technically supported by ICOMIA
with the headline theme of ‘Profiting from
Circular Thinking’.
Irene Dros, METSTRADE maritime
domain manager, comments: “We are
dedicated to continuing our commitment
to environmental issues in all aspects of
our show, so are delighted to host this
sustainability forum again.
“Also, to see the content expanded
beyond end-of-life boats into some
futuristic themes that will hopefully
deliver economic benefits for boatbuilders
and marine equipment manufacturers,”
she adds.
 Going round in circles:
A solution is needed to
tackle the glut of old boats
cluttering up our waterways