Composite Recycling--6/19/09

Attention grabber, right?

Much interest for our program has come from people who see the correlation between the ability to recycle or reuse a surfboard and the ability to do the same with other composites, such as wind blades, airplanes and automobiles. This connection intrigues us as well, and we have set out to understand the state of the composite recycling industry.

A Long Way To Go

So far, we have scratched the surface, mainly because we agreed to limit ourselves to 5 pots of coffee and 3 hours of computer time a day. What has kept us stoked about going on has been the positive response from people outside of the surf industry, other like-minded professionals who are willing to contribute time, ideas, advice and have also reached out to their networks for more of the same.

We have found numerous sites and studies that talk about the need now, more than ever, to recycle composite materials. We are now entering the stage where wind turbines and airplanes have outlived their life cycles and are becoming obsolete to newer and more advanced technologies.

Rerip's Place

Part of our personal dilemma at times is which movement we want to actively participate in--the new, continually advancing one, or the one that is dealing with the remnants of the old. After bouncing this question off our favorite people, we always come back to realizing that having the proper balance between the two extremes is how we can avoid becoming too narrowly focused on one single objective or direction.

Composite Recycling Leaders Identified

Over the course of the past week, with help from our new and growing network, we have found many websites, companies, research papers, and articles which all address the current state of composite recycling. Companies that continue to surface as leaders are Boeing, Adherent Technologies, Milled Carbon, and the European Composites Recycling Services Company. Our preliminary research is, of course, still ongoing.

The more information we find and that is shared with us by supporters, the better. If you have any leads or know anyone that can elaborate on the state of composite or surfboard recycling or other comparable applications, we would love to hear about it either through this blog or via email: recycle@rerip.com.