Boat recycling: The never-ending story of GRP

Morten Strauch

· 29.12.2023

Shredding a GRP yacht is not a major problem. Recycling the robust glass fibre laminate, however, is

In boatbuilding, glass fibres and resin are used to create a new material that is not reversible

Before the fuselage is dismantled, all materials that have a residual value or can be fed into the recycling cycle are removed

Scrapping in a French recycling centre. The recycling concept from France serves as a model for a European solution

Clean cut through the GRP laminate. A new material has been created from resin and glass fibre that is robust and extremely recyclable

7 Images

Photo: YACHT/N. Günter

There are an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 scrap boats in Germany that need to be disposed of - and the number is growing every day. Industry and politicians are drawing up disposal plans, but the problem is complex

Topics in this article

GRP recycling is possible, but expensive
Neocomp cancelled due to high energy costs
Many boats will have to be disposed of in the next few years
The owners of many old ships are not known
In France, shipyards must recycle boats

The non-mortal remains of sailboats and motorboats from the GRP era are not only found in backyards, gardens and barns in the countryside, but now also in every harbour area. For tourists, the patina of the disused ships may make for an attractive photo motif, but for harbour operators, the so-called corpses are an annoying and expensive nuisance.

The reasons for giving up a once beloved boat can be very different. The owner is deceased, long-term ill or has emigrated. Giving up the hobby for reasons of age, cost or time. Out of sight, out of mind.

What should be done with the countless plastic boats that have reached the end of their lives but still don't want to disappear is a much-discussed question. And in view of modern large-scale production in large quantities and the constantly growing armada of GRP yachts as a result, the urgency of a solution is undisputed.

GRP recycling is possible, but expensive

Although the material has been used extensively since the 1970s, there is still no economically viable solution that enables the genuine recycling of GRP. Thermal recycling and the use of processed glass fibre waste in cement production are already feasible and financially viable. However, this is not classic recycling, i.e. a circular economy from source to source, as is practised with used glass, for example.

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It is technically possible to separate resins and glass fibres. But it is uneconomical: one kilogramme of new glass fibre costs one euro, whereas one kilogramme of recycled glass fibre costs five times as much. The European Boating Industry (EBI) recently published a roadmap for implementing a circular economy for end-of-life boats, which is intended to create the conditions for solving this perennial problem. It is based on existing dismantling and recycling programmes in Europe.

A solution is to be found by 2030

The number of boats that will reach the end of their service life by 2030 is currently estimated at more than 30,000 per year in the EU. This would mean an average of over 231,000 tonnes of composite waste per year. And the maritime sector only accounts for two to three per cent of total composite consumption in Europe.

The industry association has committed to phasing out landfill and incineration by 2030 in order to offer more sustainable recycling solutions in coordination with other composite industries such as wind energy. The ambitious goal is a circular economy in which all materials can be fully recycled and reused for the same purpose.

Claus-Ehlert Meyer, Managing Director of the German Boat and Shipbuilders' Association (DBSV), is less optimistic: "Unfortunately, many people don't understand that modern boatbuilding is not simply a matter of joining different materials together, but that the GRP creates a new whole that is not reversible."

We have been pondering for 30 years how GRP could be recycled in an economically viable way"

Meyer continues: "For 30 years, we have been pondering how GRP could be recycled in an economically viable way. A wide variety of approaches have been pursued, but none of them have proved successful in practice because they were either too complex, too expensive or not effective enough. I therefore do not see a viable solution for the current GRP boat stocks. Rather, the aim is to produce ships in future that are easy to recycle."

Neocomp cancelled due to high energy costs

A few years ago, the Hamburg-based start-up ReBoat made a name for itself when it announced that it could not only dismantle boats professionally, but also recycle all materials used in boat building - including resin-impregnated fibreglass laminates.

The shredded GRP was processed by Bremen-based waste disposal specialist Neocomp and turned into high-quality substitute fuels that can replace fossil fuels in the cement industry. Not only disused plastic boats, but also rotor blades from wind turbines could be recycled in this way. Finally a ray of hope on the dark side of the boat industry?

Unfortunately not, as Neocomp ceased operations again last year - the sharp rise in energy prices and insufficient capacity utilisation are cited as the reasons for the closure of the plant, which is unique in Europe. Customers of the alternative fuel, such as the Lägerdorf cement plant in Schleswig-Holstein, have since been unable to find replacement suppliers and are once again firing fossil fuels without exception.

Despite the setback, the Hamburg recycling pioneers are working on various projects together with the Ministry of the Environment and are even researching the possibility of generating hydrogen from GRP with a US company. However, this is still a long way from being marketable.

Many boats will have to be disposed of in the next few years

The Federal Environment Agency (UBA) is now taking a keen interest in the topic and has published its own study with interesting figures - even if these are estimated and based on statistics from 2016.

It is estimated that there are six million pleasure craft under sail and motor on European waters. While Germany accounts for around 480,000 of these, i.e. every 175th inhabitant owns one, there are more than twice as many boats in Finland. One in five Finns owns a boat.

According to the UBA, there are almost 35,000 sailing dinghies and open keelboats in Germany, as well as around 160,000 sailing yachts and motorised sailboats. Built between 1970 and 1989, the largest group of currently active sailing yachts have been in use for 30 to 50 years, and it can be assumed that some of them will have to be disposed of in the near future.

The study criticises the fact that, unlike in other European countries, there is no obligation to register and deregister all recreational craft, which also makes it difficult to estimate future waste volumes. This could have a detrimental effect on the proper disposal of recreational craft, as no investments would be made in this area without a clear idea of quantities.

The owners of many old ships are not known

However, there are no statistics on how many scrap boats are exported, illegally disposed of or stored on private property. The owners of at least 50 per cent of unused ships that lie in marinas, for example, cannot be identified, if they still have one at all.

The owners of 50 per cent of unused ships in marinas cannot be identified"

The number of parked boats without clear ownership is estimated at an average of two to five per marina. With around 2,000 marinas in Germany, this results in up to 10,000 abandoned boats, which are probably no longer in the best condition. The unclear ownership situation - especially in the case of scrap boats - also affects disposal, as it is legally complicated to dispose of someone else's property.

The marinas are left with the disposal costs

Philipp Mühlenhardt, Managing Director of Sporthafen Kiel GmbH, confirms this: "From rowing boats to sailing yachts, we regularly have to deal with this problem. Such a boat may only be sold or disposed of after a court has determined that it has been forfeited. In order to obtain this title, attempts must be made through all channels to locate the owner, which can take years. We literally keep files on these inherited burdens."

If a sale actually takes place, it usually does not even cover the previous costs. In the case of ships that have to be disposed of, the marinas even have to bear the entire costs.

As a boat has usually had several owners before it is ready for scrap, the UBA would therefore like to have a continuous overview of all owners to ensure that the disposal can be processed via the last owner.

So the last one to bite the dogs? At least that's how Managing Director Mark Walberg of ReBoat sees it and is calling for an economically feasible concept for owners: "It can't be right that a 50-year-old boat, on which the maritime industry has earned money in various forms all this time, has to be disposed of by the last owner at great expense. Depending on the size of the boat, this can quickly add up to very high sums, which very few owners are prepared to pay."

Disposal costs an average of around 350 euros per tonne of weight. Complex transport drives these costs up even further, however, as the ships may not be sawn up on site, with a few exceptions, unless the strict requirements of the Federal Immission Control Act are met.

In France, shipyards must recycle boats

In France, since 2019, manufacturers of boats between 2.5 and 24 metres in length that are subject to registration have been obliged to recycle scrap boats. Recycling is financed by the Association pour la Plaisance Eco-Responsable, a non-profit organisation that collects the money from boat manufacturers in advance.

The range extends from 5 euros for a small inflatable boat to 6,500 euros for a large sailing boat. Manufacturers who already use recyclable and environmentally friendly materials in the production of their boats pay a lower eco levy; alternatively, shipyards may also offer their own take-back system.

For the owners, disposal at one of the numerous take-back centres is free of charge - except for the transport. This is the only flaw in the exemplary concept, as it prevents some owners from having their ship professionally scrapped.

However, 2,000 old boats have already been disposed of - a figure that is still a long way off in Germany. We can only hope that a well thought-out disposal concept that is affordable for owners will be available in Germany in the foreseeable future.

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