Cleaning Up Lake Erie, One Marina and Boater at a Time

By Stacy Brannan, Ohio Sea Grant Communications
Reprinted with permission from Ohio Sea Grant/Twineline

After just four years in existence, the Ohio Clean Marinas Program and its partners (Ohio Sea Grant, the Lake Erie Marine Trades Association, and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources) have much to celebrate. As 2010 began, the program had a total of 42 certified Ohio Clean Marinas; 28 more marinas have pledged to become certified this year. It's a process that benefits marina communities and the entire Lake Erie ecosystem, according to Colleen Wellington, program coordinator.

“The primary benefit of the Clean Marinas Program (ohiocleanmarina.osu.edu) is an enhanced image for the marina,” she says. “Nationwide, 30% of Clean Marina operators attribute an increase in dock sales to their participation in the program. There are also financial incentives, in-kind contributions, and other benefits.”

Wellington explained that Lake Erie benefits through a reduction in non-point source pollution through use of operational guidelines required of certified Clean Marinas. “Marinas are not substantial pollution generators, but because of their proximity to the Lake, their activities do directly impact the lake. The Clean Marinas Program helps keep that impact to a minimum by promoting a diverse list of best management practices,” said Wellington.

Boaters, too, can help clean up Lake Erie by becoming an Ohio Clean Boater and taking the Clean Boater pledge, available online at ohiocleanboater.osu.edu and at any certified Clean Marina. The pledge encourages individuals to be environmental stewards by following Best Boater Practices to keep oil, sewage, toxic boat cleaning and maintenance products, plastics, cigarette butts and other trash, fishing gear, and invasive species out of the water.

Boaters also can directly support the environment by taking part in the Ohio Clean Marinas innovative Shrink-Wrap Recycling Program, which has kept more than one million pounds of boat shrink wrap and plastic out of area landfills. That plastic, in turn, has been made into roughly 150,000 guardrail spacer blocks -- enough to protect nearly 200 miles of Ohio highway with reusable material that costs taxpayers less. The effort has been so successful in the Buckeye State that five other states -- New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Maryland, and Delaware -- have been inspired to contract with Mondo Polymer Technologies of Reno, Ohio, to have their own shrink wrap recycled in the Buckeye State.

With the boating season just around the corner, Mondo Polymer Technologies has some requests of the 117 marinas that serve as shrink-wrap collection points. “Mondo has made it clear that they will not collect from marinas if they don’t have most of the nylon strapping removed from their shrink wrap,” Wellington explains. “The strapping is not recyclable, and paying baling companies to remove it adds a costly step to the recycling process. This is a particular area of concern, as Mondo is providing the marina community and our program a free service. We’re encouraging marinas to get out the word about proper shrink-wrap disposal.”

Step-by-step, illustrated instructions can be found online at ohiocleanmarina.osu.edu.