Rope Recycling

Here at Jimmy Green Marine, we measure out, cut and splice significant quantities of rope. The splicing process generates trimmings and offcuts in a reasonably large volume. Historically, all this waste would have been collected in a big bin and sent to a landfill site. We were buying rope in, cutting it up and throwing out the waste products to service consumer requirements. As we have all learned, this cycle was having a detrimental effect on the planet. We wanted to reduce our impact and we were happy to discover there was plenty we could do about it!

Jimmy Green Marine are large stockists of LIROS and Marlow ropes. Both these companies use DSM Dyneema for their high-performance lines. These manufacturers had already started on their journey towards sustainable supply. Team Jimmy Green therefore find themselves well-positioned to listen to these industry leaders and act on their initiatives.

Marlow had launched their Blue Ocean rPET rope range made from recycled polyester, some years ago. As soon as we heard about this new rope availability, we jumped at the idea, and now stock the full range of BlueOcean Dockline and Double-Braid. These sustainably sourced fibres offer an excellent alternative to standard polyester lines, which rely on fresh raw material from the earth.

Dyneema is a brand of fibre synonymous with high-performance yachting ropes. The carbon cost of creating all the various grades of dyneema is very high. DSM have developed a new bio-based manufacturing process to tackle this problem. The waste product from the timber and pulp industries provides the raw material to produce Ethylene, which is a key component of Dyneema. Mass balancing in the production process has revealed a certified 90% reduction to the carbon cost during manufacture. The original Dyneema HMPE fibre was notoriously difficult to recycle. Happily, the new bio Dyneema has been specially developed to make it 100% recyclable, great!

LIROS introduced a rope recycling scheme in Germany some years ago, but it was only suitable for polyester, nylon and polypropylene fibres. Initially, we didn’t think this would be viable for us to use as a UK company because of the shipping costs. However, we started to collect our offcuts and trimmings regularly to determine if the volume might be suitable for export. We are proud to say that we have now been returning our polyester, nylon and polypropylene to LIROS for over two years. We implemented an in-house process to achieve fibre separation from the general waste. Once separated, the different fibres are stored in wooden crates outside the chandlery until a suitable weight/volume has accumulated, and we pack the fibres for shipment.

Once we were confident that we could manage our rope waste in this fashion, we decided to test the water with a local rope recycling scheme. The scheme is open to everyone, including individuals, sailors and clubs. We advertised the details on our website and ran localised facebook adverts, always cautious about the demand for fear of being inundated with too much material. We also promoted a yacht/sailing club collection option.

The first cautious steps into rope collection for recycling are now complete. We now feel confident to open the scheme up a little further. Recent consultation with Marlow has revealed the possibility of a rope recycling option here in the UK which reduces the impact and cost of the shipping. Even better, we are now looking at a potential service for high-performance fibre recycling. With this in mind, we now additionally separate our trimmings and offcuts of Dyneema, Vectran, rPET and Technora.

We are optimistic that the volume of rope that we collect will continue to grow as awareness improves. We hope to combine waste from our splicing service with worn out/used ropes and rigging. Recycling all these ropes in this way feels like progress. Our general-waste bins are already lighter. The feel-good factor is returning. The good news is that while our rope recycling scheme brings welcome relief, it forms only one part of our environmentally conscious efforts. Check out our Environment and Sustainability page for more information. We are always looking for new ideas. Please feel free to get in touch if you think you can help or want to share your experiences.

Team Jimmy Green