The Pros and Cons of Shrink Wrap

For many boaters in marinas across the United States, boat winterization includes shrink wrapping. The benefits of using it are many, but the resulting mounds of plastic that end up in landfills are proving to be a challenge.

A Common Solution
A solution introduced decades ago, shrink wrapping has seen a boost in popularity over the past 15 years, as more boaters have taken to the water and look to protect their investment in the off-season. Rolls of polyethylene, often with UV inhibitors and other additives, are cut to size, placed on a frame over a boat, and shrunk to fit using a heat gun. Straps and zippers help keep the wrap in place through the harsh winter weather. From center consoles to large cruising sailboats, shrink wrap has been the solution to keeping moisture, dirt, and even UV rays from damaging boats stored outside during the winter.

Wrapping is a fairly quick process, brings added income to marinas that offer the service, and adds longevity to boats. The downside is that every spring, when the wrap is removed, much of it is sent to local landfills, where the breakdown is slow and there’s a risk the chemicals used in shrink wrap are leaching into the ground or contaminating stormwater runoff. For an industry reliant on clean waters, shrink wrap provokes a love-hate relationship.
Similar to many plastic products that create waste, recycling seems to be the answer, but with limited businesses available to do that work, and other logistical challenges, there’s not a simple way to get rid of the prob

lem.

Trade Associations Step In
Recognizing the issue, state clean marina programs and marine trades associations have sought solutions with varying levels of success. Maryland, a state leading in the push for clean marinas and clean waters, was an earlier adopter of shrink wrap recycling.

John Stefanicik, executive director of the Marine Trades Association of Maryland, is a champion of shrink wrap recycling. “Twenty-five years ago, shrink wrap didn’t exist and we had a lot more wooden boats,” he said. “Now we have almost no wood and tons of shrink wrap. The added plastic almost doesn’t make sense. I’d like to see that since boaters want to enjoy clean waters, they’d be willing to pay to keep shrink wrap out of landfills. If you’re going to have a sound environment, you need to recycle.”

MMTA began a shrink wrap recycling program about five years ago as a partnership with Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Clean Marina Program. About 30 marinas participate now each year. The trade association sells $15 bags that can hold up to 40 pounds of shrink wrap. It is the marina’s responsibility to collect the shrink wrap from the boat and prepare it for recycling by removing all zippers and straps. MTAM then picks up all the bags and delivers them to a bailing facility which then sends the product out for recycling. This past season, MTAM hired a retiree and a recent graduate to pick up the bags which took them just over two weeks to complete.

“Most marine trades have no partner who can do the recycling. We are lucky to have Chesapeake Materials, which is owned by a guy who was a marina owner. He stepped up to help in 2024,” Stefanicik said. “Before that the material was shipped out of the country. We have better confidence that it is being recycled if it’s done in the United States.”

The wrap is turned into plastic pellets used for other products like highway barriers. The money that Chesapeake Materials gives the trade association from the sale of the recycled product to a secondary market turns the recycling program into a fundraiser.

Public-Private Partnership Shows Promise
Donna Morrow, the long-time director of Maryland’s Clean Marina program, has attempted to expand the program through the years with limited success. Last year she tried to implement a recycling program for individual boaters who didn’t keep their vessels at a marina. She explained that she put dumpsters in controlled areas like county lots and provided clear instructions on the bags of how to properly remove and prepare the shrink wrap for recycling. The effort failed because there was too much contamination from people who simply didn’t follow the instructions. If straps and zippers are not removed, the wrap can’t be recycled.

An exception came from Queen Anne County, which has a dedicated program called Plastic Free Queen Anne County. The trade association gives out the bags and provides instruction and the Plastic Free program provides the manpower to ensure there’s no contamination.

“Thirty marinas may seem a small number to be involved in the shrink wrap recycling program,” Morrow said. “The largest marinas collect the shrink wrap themselves and have it recycled. Many other yards have contractors who do that work. It’s not all happening through us.”

Alternatives to shrink wrap are popping up but nothing has shown itself to be a true solution. There are companies offering biodegradable shrink wrap, which has been more prominent in the agricultural industry, but in Maryland, the use of those products is illegal, as there have been no studies on what is released to the ground as the product breaks down. Other states like Rhode Island and New Jersey are using the biodegradable shrink wrap.

Morrow sees other avenues as better ways to increase shrink wrap recycling. The Queen Anne model, where the county is helping with the process, has been successful. Morrow said that more counties, localities and states having resources to put towards the recycling program would be beneficial. “Clean boating practices have taken hold over the years, so there’s hope that more recognition will be given to the issue and assistance provided,” she said.

“There are always bills in the legislatures that target waste, and maybe this will come up and a dedicated fund could be started by those who sell the wrap.”
Morrow also sees promise in dealers selling boats with covers. “When boats are shipped from the factory, they are wrapped for transport. A few brands are using reusable covers that can last a few years.”

A handful of states have adopted or are in the process of adopting extended producer responsibility rules and laws that require manufacturers to offer end-of-life solutions for the products they produce. Manufacturers comply by ensuring what they make is biodegradable or recyclable, and covering the costs for any recycling efforts, which would likely be added to the consumer cost. The result of regulations such as this could be innovation in the materials used for shrink wrapping, an increase in the number of companies that offer recycling, or, the reverse, that manufacturers decide making shrink wrap isn’t worth the added costs. However, with the materials also being used within the agricultural industry, it likely won’t disappear.