New surfing product made from 100% marine plastic sorted in Exeter
Published: 31 August 2021
Eco-conscious wave-lovers can now purchase a new surfing product made from 100% marine plastic sorted in Exeter.
Beach and ocean-born plastic collected from around the South West by Odyssey Innovation is being turned into surfing handplanes.
The plastic is brought to Exeter City Council’s MRF for sorting, ready to be sent on for recycling. It is already being made into products such as the world’s first ocean-going kayak and bins that are placed in harbours around the region.
The new handplanes were designed by surfers in conjunction with the University of Exeter and the University of Plymouth, following a public consultation on the development of a prototype product that would demonstrate the circular economy.
Each handplane is made in the South West and contains the equivalent of 129 plastic bottle tops. Additionally, the products are fully recyclable through Odyssey Innovation’s Marine Regeneration Programme.
The handheld board packs some serious fun, allowing surfers to pick up speed, catch long rides and feel at one with the wave.
Exeter City Council and Odyssey Innovation are partnered in ensuring that plastic collected from ports, harbours and beaches around the South West is able to be recycled into valuable products.
There are currently eighteen ports and harbours on board with the programme between Newlyn and Weymouth, collecting plastics such as abandoned or damaged trawl nets, nylon monofilament gill nets (otherwise treated as waste in the UK), ropes, buoys, crates, drums, pontoons and lobster pots.
Once each load is brought to Exeter’s MRF, the City Council takes ownership of the plastics. The MRF team then sorts them into the various types and sells them to companies with the proven ability to process them into a product suitable for recycling into goods.
From there, the granulated plastics are transported to the companies that transform them into the goods sold by Odyssey Innovation.
This demonstrably circular arrangement generates an income for public services in Exeter while directly supporting the effort to keep the South West’s beaches and waters plastic-free.
