The European Composites Industry Association (EuCIA, Brussels / Belgium; www.eucia.eu) has partnered with the European Boating Industry (EBI, Brussels; www.europeanboatingindustry.eu) to jointly tackle key challenges around the circularity of composites used in the recreational boating sector and to promote sustainable recycling solutions for the supply chain for end-of-life vessels.

The aim of the partnership will be to find common approaches to the key issues of dismantling, recycling, and the future of composites in the recreational boating industry. Composites are the main material used for making hulls, decks, and large components, and by the estimate of the associations are used in around 95% of all vessels. Given that they have already been built for several decades, the number of boats reaching their end-of-life is expected to increase over the next few years.

The partnership will follow policy developments at the EU level, such as the “Green Deal” (see Plasteurope.com of 27.01.2020), the “Circular Economy Action Plan” (see Plasteurope.com of 09.02.2021) and the “Working Group on End-of-Life boats”, co-chaired by EBI and the European Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG MARE; www.ec.europa.eu). The cooperation will also extend to other, larger-use composite industries and related industries, including wind energy and the transportation segment.