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Waste & Recycling
New Massachusetts’ initiative recycles marine shrink wrap By KATHLEEN MORAN | The Municipal
Gloucester, Mass.’s, new initiative, which ran from early April to early June this year, started with a simple observation.
Boats anchor in Gloucester Outer Harbor. (Photo provided)
A sailboat and powerboat wear winter marine plastic shrink wrap coverings at Granite Pier Rockport. (Photo provided)
54 THE MUNICIPAL | SEPTEMBER 2021
According to Sean Steinberg, the project manager for Seaside Sustainability, “A Seaside Sustainability board member was driving through his neighborhood and realized the number of parked boats” that would eventually need to be stripped of their winterizing shrink wrap as warmer weather arrived. This important observation led to research investigating ways to recycle marine shrink wrap in a thoughtful and conscientious manner, an objective that resonates with Seaside Sustainability — a nonprofit organization that, as its name implies, is motivated to protect and preserve the ocean through awareness and effort. This initiative quickly developed as several moving parts began to work collaboratively. One of Seaside Sustainability’s initial steps was to consult with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Sea Grants, which has already had success in running a comparable program on Cape Cod. Additionally, Harbormaster Thomas Ciarametaro confirmed that on March 12, the Harbormaster’s Office agreed to help sponsor the project. A crucial step was the nonprofit’s coordination with the Gloucester Department of Public Works to designate the exact disposal location for Dynamic Solutions in North Andover to deliver the two-month recycling container rental. The Harbormaster’s Office also “launched a social media campaign to spread awareness of the initiative,” which was key since there were no restrictions for boat owners in terms of residency requirements, said Ciarametaro. It should also be noted that funding for this
