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INTERNATIONAL NEWS
comes from the marina industry. And that percentage keeps shrinking as both marinas and boaters keep getting cleaner and greener. In the US, numerous states have created their own “clean marina” programs, usually voluntary, and usually easy to work with and be meaningful. There are also other national and international boating organizations that have set up their own various clean marina programs. Unfortunately, some organizations have decided to make their programs a profit center, which can discourage participation and foster a political hierarchy. Basically, being clean and
green all starts with instilling a mindset with management and employees as well as customers, visitors, suppliers and contractors. It can be as simple as disposing of litter in trash containers as opposed to the ground, or as complicated as installing a solar array atop your rack storage or other work building. The Internet, of course, is chock full of helpful suggestions, programs and advice for marinas, with a search just for “Marina Best Management Practices” yielding over 600,000 results! One of the best websites I’ve come across that gather a tremendous amount of information on things boaters can do to be green is at the Sailors for the Sea site, more specifically
http://www.sailorsforthesea.org/p rograms/green-boating-guide. The guide covers everything from the more common things like bilge cleaner products to outfitting your galley. They even name names for products that they have found to be
particularly worthwhile. Beyond the guide you can also find information on Sailors for the Sea’s Clean Regattas program and KELP (Kids Environmental Lesson Plans), all geared to heightening awareness and educating current and future boaters on the need to keep our waters clean. Why not like them on Facebook and provide a link to the Green Boater’s Guide on your website? At the same time try to stock the recommended products in your ship’s store and provide maintenance offers tied into the routine maintenance recommendations. We tend to lose track of just
how much plastic has entered our lives, and when that plastic makes it to the marina or on the boat how easily it accidentally ends up in the water. We also have been conditioned over many years to assume that we always need a cleaning product to clean anything or everything – or the extent to which we fall victim to the promise that xyz toxic cleaner is the only way to get it really clean. We forget that an awful lot of things can be cleaned with water and a good cellulose sponge – not a plastic sponge that smears things around and that adds to plastic pollution if it gets lost overboard! In the US, the BOAT US
Foundation, in partnership with Keep America Beautiful and with funding from the tobacco industry, have been running a successful cigarette litter prevention program that provides marinas with a $500 cash grant to purchase cigarette ash receptacles, signage and a supply of portable ashtrays for use on boats. Marinas are asked to install the receptacles, distribute the portable ashtrays, and educate
their customers about the importance of proper disposal, particularly of cigarette butts, which for the most part do not degrade and, in addition to the unattractiveness element, can harm fish and other wildlife for decades. Marinas that have followed the program have reported considerable success. And then there are some marinas which have become smoke free, as have any number of parks and beaches – keeping “butts off the beach” and out of the sea. Similarly, the number of places
where “disposable” plastic bags have been banned continues to grow, including the island of Nantucket, a popular tourist beach and boating destination in Massachusetts, and most recently the entire state of California. And there can clearly be economic incentives for being clean and green. Putting restroom and hallway lights on motion detectors will save money by only having usage when needed. Most facilities have two types of outdoor lighting needs – one for the hours when many customers are at the facility, and the rest of the time for nighttime security. Not all of the lights need to be on all the time, and the use of timers can be meaningful. Switching to lower energy usage LED or similar fixtures/bulbs end up saving money, particularly now that their prices have come way down as production capacities have increased. Automatic shutoffs for water outlets save potable water. Flow reduction in faucets and showers do the same. With the way water prices have been increasing in many places, anything that saves water becomes even more of a no- brainer.
On the more in-depth side, the MARCH 2017 FORE & AFT 49
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