Surfboards are coveted pieces of property for ages while wetsuits are often discarded after their use and given little thought afterward.
But a program from Rip Curl – maker of wetsuits – and TerraCycle is asking surfers to recycle those old wetsuits. The “Recycle Your Wetsuit” program was created to encourage surfers from across the United States, Australia and Europe to reduce their impact on the environment.
Originally launched in Australia in 2021, the “Recycle Your Wetsuit” program has expanded beyond Down Under and is now available in the United States and Europe (France, Portugal and Spain) to offer environmentally-conscious surfers the opportunity to recycle any surfing wetsuit at participating stores via in-store drop off or through the mail. The expansion is part of a global effort to reduce the impact of wetsuit waste.
Select Rip Curl stores will accept any surf branded neoprene wetsuit and hood, not including booties, gloves, or heavy diving dry suits. Customers can drop off their used surfing wetsuits in store at no cost. If proximity is an issue the selected stores are also accepting wetsuits via mail.
Once collected, the wet suits will be broken down by their components and the collected rubber will be repurposed for use in applications such as the safety matting used at playgrounds and outdoor gyms.
“Since the program launched in 2021, we are pleased to have seen more than 1,600 Australian customers dedicating time and effort to return their surfing wetsuits for recycling. We’re proud to be able to extend this program to our US, France, Spain and Portugal customers, helping to provide them with an avenue to do their bit for the environment,” said Shasta O’Loughlin, Rip Curl’s Environmental, Social and Governance Manager.
“We are incredibly proud of our partnership with TerraCycle as a leader in the recycling space. With some of our core values at Rip Curl being Community and Environment, the ‘Recycle Your Wetsuit’ program is extremely important to us. We have seen a significant uptake of the program on our home soil and look forward to the response internationally.”
Tom Szaky, Founder and CEO of TerraCycle said that Most surfing wetsuits are made from synthetic rubber, a complex material that isn’t accepted in curbside recycling. But through the Recycle Your Wetsuit recycling program we are providing a new use for this material and offering consumers the opportunity to think twice about what can be repurposed and what truly is garbage.”
Surfers can learn more at the official ‘Recycle Your Wetsuit’ program website. TerryCycle is a leader in international recycling.
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