Michigan is home to a vibrant boating community, with more than 800,000 registered boats across the state. To protect these vessels from the elements during the off-season, many boaters and marinas rely on plastic shrink wrap.
While effective, this material isn’t accepted in curbside recycling programs, and once spring rolls around shrinkwrap usually goes into the trash.
There’s a statewide effort underway to recycle boat shrinkwrap.
The Michigan Recycling Coalition (MRC) — a statewide recycling advocate and member-based nonprofit, is once again organizing Recycle Run, Michigan’s official boat shrink wrap recycling program. The Recycle Run has brought together hundreds of marinas, storage facilities, municipalities, and individual boaters to help divert this bulky plastic from the waste stream. To date, the program has successfully recycled more than 170 tons of shrink wrap, turning it into new products like composite decking.
Now through June 2, the MRC is encouraging even broader participation. Here’s how it works: Boaters can purchase EZ-Fill Recycle Run bags from Dr. Shrink, a global shrink wrap supplier. Each bag holds approximately 800 square feet of plastic and typically arrives within 3-5 days. Participants must register online through the Recycle Run webpage to officially join the program.
If you fill 15 or more bags, you qualify for free direct pickup by one of MRC’s program partners. Smaller quantities? No problem, you can still drop off your filled bags at one of the many collection sites across Michigan.
Recycling shrink wrap isn’t just about waste reduction, it’s a meaningful way to protect our environment. For every single bag recycled, we save:
• 115 KWH of energy
• 13.5 Gallons of Oil
• 20 cubic feet of landfill space With the support of boaters and marinas statewide, Recycle Run continues to grow, creating a cleaner, more sustainable future for Michigan’s boating and outdoor communities.
Bags will be accepted at drop-off locations through June 2. Questions? Contact Program Coordinator Jillian Plant at [email protected] or call 810692-0195.
