Ohio boat-wrap recycling collects 66,000 pounds; South Bass Island joins effort

Ohio's boat shrink-wrap recycling partners collected more than 66,000 pounds of plastic in 2026, including a new South Bass Island effort that diverted 1,400 pounds, Ohio Sea Grant reports.

The agency's report, published Tuesday and updated Wednesday, describes a way for Lake Erie boaters and marinas to recycle the plastic used to protect boats during winter storage.

The statewide material will be recycled into guardrail blocks for Ohio highways, according to the report. The South Bass Island collection included residents' boat shrink wrap and pallet wrapping.

Island partners included Bret Klun, manager of The Keys and Park Place Boat Club, and Michael Pucak, manager of South Bass Island State Park. Ohio Sea Grant describes the summer collection as the Clean Marinas program's first collaboration of its kind with the Put-in-Bay community.

The Lorain County Solid Waste District also collected, cleaned and prepared nearly 10,000 pounds of shrink wrap, the agency says.

Recycling requires removing nylon straps, zippers, access doors and other material that can contaminate the plastic, according to Maria D'Amico, Ohio Sea Grant's Clean Marinas coordinator for the Lake Erie Basin.

The report links to designated collection locations. Boaters can ask about participation and preparation requirements at ohiocleanmarinas@osu.edu.