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Saving spinnakers from landfill: Cornwall businesses tackle sailing waste
Saturday, 27 January 2024
Saving spinnakers from landfill: Cornwall businesses tackle sailing waste
A campaign launched by Cornwall-based not-for-profit Clean Sailors and social-enterprise Waterhaul aims to save 200 spinnakers from landfill this winter by collecting and repurposing them into Waterhauls’ sell-out beach cleaning bags.
Local sailors are being encouraged to donate their end-of-life spinnakers to the campaign’s drop-off point in Newquay.
With statistics showing that up to 97% of all end-of-life sails are incinerated or end up in landfill, Clean Sailors launched ‘ReSail’, an online global platform connecting sailors and their old sails with projects that can give them a second-life. With over 33 partners around the world, ReSail is the only global initiative looking to address end-of-life sail material at scale. It’s through ReSail by Clean Sailors that Waterhaul are continuing their mission to increase the recovery of end-of-life spinnakers, which since 2022 they have been turning into beach cleaning bags.
No longer usable as sails but an amazing resource of strong and durable materials, spinnakers are super lightweight and as clean-up bags, they are durable, repairable and reusable. Waterhaul have proven them to be the perfect solution to collect litter in, ending the reliance on single-use plastic bags for litter picks and beach cleans.
Waterhaul’s upcycled spinnaker bags are also designed to be a perfect fit for their 100% recycled fishing gear bag hoops – which hold the bag open for easy litter picking. Each of these hoops is made from 330 grams of recycled fishing nets and ropes.
“We’re extremely proud that we’re able to repurpose end-of-life spinnaker sails and transform them into durable and reusable bags which will be used to tackle the wider problem of plastic pollution in our environment, when in the hands of our community and partners. We hope to collect 200 spinnakers this winter with the support of Clean Sailors and their ReSail campaign – saving them from landfill and giving them a greater purpose!” says Kieran Hill, Head of B2B Sales at Waterhaul.
“ReSail by Clean Sailors is the only global platform in the world encouraging use of end-of-life sail materials. We are really excited to launch another campaign with our friends and partners, Waterhaul; a team whose mission is founded on the ethos of re-use and recycle of seemingly ‘waste’ material. We look forward to further demonstrating that sail material can sustain its integrity for decades, in a new form and beyond its original purpose. We are grateful for the support of our strong, local sailing communities in kicking-off Project Spinnaker!” says Holly Manvell, founder of Clean Sailors.
The drop-off point and postal address for donating spinnakers is:
ReSail x WATERHAUL
9a Seabase Units
Treloggan Industrial Estate
Newquay
Cornwall
TR7 2SX
Further drop-off points for canvas, sails, jibs and genoa’s around the UK and beyond, can be found at https://resailbycleansailors.com/.
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