It has become more and more difficult to find a way to recycle the LDPE plastic that is used for wrapping boats in the winter. Luckily, the Marine Trades Association of Maryland (MTAM) has found a partner willing to take shrinkwrap for a price.
R. Davis Ent. Inc (AKA Ron the Bagman), makes plastic bags from the discarded wrap.
MTAM reminds us that while some companies are already paying to have wrap hauled away, most haulers do not have a way of recycling the material, so it often ends up in the landfill. Going with R. Davis Ent. guarantees that the wrap is recycled into bags made in the USA.
If you are interested in participating , R. Davis Ent. will ship plastic ‘super sacks’ to you to put the wrap in. They can haul 10,000 pounds in one trips or about 20 super sacks (sacks are about 4' x 4 'x 4').
Here are the hauling costs by zip code (zip codes not listed here can be quoted separately). Contact
[email protected] with further questions or price quotes.
- 21230: $780.00
- 21220: $815.00
- 21221: $794.00
- 21901: $675.00
- 21403: $990.00
- 21401: $990.00
- 20770: $$1059.00
Recycling with R. Davis Ent. requires preparing your wrap as follows:
- Remove all doors, zippers, vents, rope, and ribbon strapping (belly bands), and other non-shrink wrap materials.
- Try to keep the shrink wrap as clean as possible – gravel and sand make the recycling process more difficult.
Although reusable boat covers are environmentally preferable to disposable covers, recycling is an environmentally valuable option for dealing with waste material that cannot be reused. MTAM asserts that it will continue to work toward a more workable and permanent solution for recycling shrinkwrap in years to follow.