Boats on the Bay: Shrinking the Impacts

In Maryland each autumn, tens of thousands of boats are covered with shrink wrap, a non-biodegradable, heavy-duty plastic that’s heat-shrunk onto a framework of nylon strapping tape, sealing boats from the elements. Typically, it’s thrown away in spring, making it as much a single-use plastic as water bottles, cutlery, or straws. And, while tons of it are generated in Maryland and nationally—the vast majority ending up in landfills or incinerators—efforts toward recycling and changing boat owners’ behavior around using it are complicated by a dearth of research and firm data, the volatile global economics of recycling, and the basic physical difficulties of handling the material.