Clean Marinas and Lake Friendly Program

The Clean Marina program is a voluntary program that encourages marina operators and recreational boaters to protect the boating environment by practicing environmentally sound operating and maintenance procedures. This program focuses on reducing or eliminating pollution from entering the Great Lakes through boating and marina activities using best management practices (BMPs) and encouraging stewardship.

Are you a Marina Manager looking for resources on becoming a Clean Marina? Visit our Marina Managers page!

Currently there are 36 states that have a Clean Marina program. Pennsylvania is the only state on the Great Lakes coastline to not have a Clean Marina program. To initiate the program, we are establishing a Boat Shrink Wrap Recycling program. Boat shrink wrap is one of the largest uses of single-use plastics. The average shrink wrap boat uses 25 pounds of plastic, equivalent to 2,062 plastic bags. The plastic from the shrink wrap never breaks down, it only breaks into smaller pieces where they are eventually consumed or absorbed by marine life.

Modeled off the Ohio Clean Marinas program and other successful programs across the Great Lakes, the RSC has installed metal bins around the boatyards of participating marinas where your boats are currently stored. These bins are outfitted with signage describing the process to remove the shrink wrap as well as a QR code showing a video (Shrink Wrap Recycling) on proper removal methods. It is critical that the shrink wrap placed in the bins does not include the straps (perimeter and belly bands), vents, or zippers. This contaminates the material, and it cannot then be recycled. Please cut these items off the shrink wrap and place them in the waste receptacles next to the recycling bins. Unfortunately, if the shrink wrap has a felt backing, it cannot be recycled.

The Benefit of Recycling:  Be a part of the solution!  Instead of letting this plastic accumulate in the landfill, recycle it, and give it a new purpose.  All shrink wrap placed in the bins will be transported to Fireland Local LLC where it will be dried and baled.  It will then be transported to Mondo Polymer Technologies where they use the plastic to make guardrail offset blocks.  This diverts millions of pounds of plastic from solid waste streams, transforming it into a material that provides safety measures on our highways.