The South Hams District Council (SHDC) are currently looking to increase their work in recycling abandoned vessels throughout the South Hams’ seas, and a clean marine environment is high on their agenda. The Council’s efforts to mitigate climate change includes examining maritime activities throughout the district and figuring out how to cut back on carbon emissions and water pollution. In the local estuaries, reports of abandoned, sunk, or trapped boats are frequent. As a result, the Council has determined that end-of-use vessels continue to raise concerns and something must be done to recycle these as much as possible to give them a new life. [1]
Figure 1: Boats moored in Dartmouth Harbour, Dartmouth. [2]
End of Life Vessels
End of life vessels are vessels that cannot be sold or used for any other purpose because they are nearing or have reached the end of their operational life. A 45-foot sailing yacht or an 8-foot dinghy can be among them. Even though they aren’t quite abandoned vessels, they nonetheless need to be disposed of in a way that’s both economical and practical.
The Current Process
Currently, we are not able to dispose of vessels properly. A few small businesses are labelled as boat breakers, and that is just what they are. However, they will usually take out the valuable and recyclable portions of the ship and then dispose of the rest in a landfill. The amount of waste that is turned into energy is quite minimal, and if the waste needs to travel any distance, this is not an efficient form of disposal.
Up until last year, the authorities, manufacturers, and the larger marine sector had been, at best, ambivalent about addressing this problem. Nonetheless, the SHDC provided some funding, making this experimental project possible. [3]
The Project
In the spring of 2024, the Council disassembled a sailing yacht that was past its prime in ,collaboration with industry partners and Creekside Boatyard in Dartmouth. After that, they considered how to recycle or repurpose as many of the parts as possible. The pilot project effectively illustrated the feasibility and timeliness of a revolutionary piece-by-piece disassembly, recovery, and recycling method for end-of-life boat management. [4] The boat’s engine and electronics were among the component pieces, along with bronze winches and stainless steel rigging. Additionally, nearly 1,500 kg of glass-reinforced plastic (GRP) composite were recovered.
Cllr John McKay, South Hams District Council’s Executive Member for Climate Change and Biodiversity, said:
“This research is just the first step in our work to address the issue of abandoned vessels across the South Hams. We want to work more closely with our industry partners, harbour authorities, marinas and boat builders. They are the ones who feel more closely the financial and environmental impact of end-of-life boats sitting in their waters and getting in the way of their day-to-day work. Projects such as these go a long way in supporting our ambitions to reduce climate change.” [5]
Although the compound used in boat hulls does not presently have a commercial recycling solution in the UK, the project team were thrilled to be able to recover and clean damaged GRP fibres from a tiny piece of the boat for the first time using a cutting-edge method called DEECOM®. They anticipate using these fibres again in the future to make recycled goods.
Sailing Towards the Future
This pilot project gave SHDC the chance to educate the local community on the present and potential problems associated with end-of-use vessels, as well as support the efforts of the boating and maritime business sectors to encourage positive changes in behaviour. By demonstrating what can be accomplished, this pilot supports the Council’s goal of making SHDC an example for other local authorities. In fact, it’s evident from the scope of the UK’s broader involvement in this pilot that there is a strong desire to investigate this problem and any viable remedies that go well beyond South Hams.
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References
[1] South Hams District Council et al. (2024) Report on the Pilot Project for the Disassembly, Recycling and Upcycling of End of Life (EOL) Vessels – July 2024, Re-COMP PILOT 2024.
[2] Lidgley, M. (2016) Boats moored in Dartmouth Harbour, Dartmouth. Available at WikiCommons
[3] The future looks bright for Vessel Recycling (2024) South Hams District Council.
[4] Morris, J. (2024a) Plans to recycle more abandoned boats, BBC News.
[5] Tindle Newspapers (2024) The future looks bright for vessel recycling, Totnes Times.
