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NATCHEZ ON THE WATERFRONT 21


3 The dockside at Marina d’Arechi in Italy is free of litter.


degrade and, in addition to looking unattractive when floating in the water, can harm fish and other wildlife for decades. Marinas that have followed the programme have reported considerable success. In addition, there are some marinas that 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. There can clearly be economic


By Dan Natchez*


it into the marina or on the boat how easily it accidentally ends up in the water. We have also 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, has been running a successful cigarette butts prevention programme that provides marinas with a 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


incentives for being clean and green. Putting washrooms, toilets and hallway lights on motion detectors will save money by only using electricity 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 security during the hours of darkness. 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 ends up saving money, particularly now


that their prices have come way down as production capacities have increased. Automatic shut-offs for water outlets save potable water. Flow reduction in taps and showers do the same. With the way water prices have been increasing in many places, anything that saves water makes economic sense. On a deeper level, the careful


examination of what materials are used at a marina can be important. For instance, many facilities seem to put in tropical hardwood decking. This material is not only expensive, but will often have been sourced from the diminishing rain forests of tropical countries. There are other choices, including various composites that use recycled materials, typically cost less and can out-perform the wood options. Of course, it is necessary to carry out research on this front as there are also any number of composite products out there that will not hold up when subject to the rigours of the marine environment! Taking a serious look at the


cladding, roofing, insulation and weather-resistant materials for buildings, as well as the paint used, can cut down on the needs of both air-conditioning in the Summer and heating in the Winter. There are even scientistss working on colour-changing paints and roofing tiles that are black in the Winter and white in the Summer.


Well-kept Cobb’s Quay is an MDL marina in Poole Harbour, England. DECEMBER 2016 • MARINA EURO-REPORT


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