Ok so my son is sustainability captain for his primary school and is pretty rabid about waste and recycling etc. This afternoon he asked "dad...what's going to happen to your boards when they're no good any more? ". I had to confess I didn't know. We found a five year old youtube clip about a small scale board recycler in Cali and a few that had been turned into novelty furniture but not much really.

So what happens to boards (surf,windsurf,sup) when they're old and rooted? Is anyone in Aus recycling them? Or are they destined to serve out their days in a dusty corner of cash converters, ultimately ending up as toxic landfill...anybody know?

Most are going to end up getting dumped.

The high end and custom type boards are much more likely to be reused, resold, repurposed, stored etc. Rest I'm guessing is going to get dumped.

If your son is really into this get him to look at Yvon Chouinard and his ideas regarding sustainability. Most of the time we can't recycle stuff because of the way it is produced in the first place, Cradle to Cradle design is very important concept here.

Consume less but consume better is kind of it.

When guys down here snap boards they send them to me. I strip the glass off them, re-shape the foam and then glass them into handplanes. Makes bodysurfing even more fun and I put a goPro mount on the front so you get those awesome "in the barrel" shots! I get about 4-5 out of a standard shortboard and its a nice way to keep a snapped board from landfill

gregc said...
That is friggin wicked. Love the hand plane. Where can we get one???

Yeah...been thinking about a hand plane for some time, half intending to grab some paulownia and try to shape one but...

how can I get one of yours?

and thanks all for the responses so far

Sorry I got off topic really by gushing about the hand planes. The truth is that any industry be it manufacturing or in some form of sustainability or recyling is dependant on the market, ie is it worthwhile and can you make money from it. The techonology must be affordable so that when you strip down a board, grind it up and do something with the 'stuff' that comes out it doesnt cost you more money than you can sell it for.

I like the idea of using the 'stuff' as a filler for roadbase but if it is not significantly cheaper than what they use now it is unlikely industry will take it up. Govt is reluctant to tell people what to use becuase if at some time down the road the product proves to be dangerous or breaks down and large repairs are required then the Govt will have to fund that. So its a liability question as well. I would wonder the number of boards of all sorts that end up in land fill each year? I would also ask what is the cubic metre cost of landfill to a local govt? They do have a figure its different in each state or territory.

surf4fun said...
Can highly recommend Yvone's book 'Let my people go surfing'. Fantastic read as to how Patagonia came about and some of the philosophies behind the company.

+1. Excellent insight into sustainability ideas from an "all time" adventurer.

I had an old sailboard as a garden bench which was ok.

Check out Felipe Siebert's vid on recycling an old poly stick...
He also builds awesome hollow wood boards in Santa Catarina Brazil.



I guess the answer is to build stronger boards which last you longer than a season like wooden or epoxy sandwich boards.