Saturday, September 17, 2011

How things change. Most Surfers will remember went the iconic Clark Foam went out of business in 2005 and now a new report how Surfboard brands are using leftover PU dust.

Graphic courtesy of  Surfer 



URETHANES TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL

ALISO VIEJO, CALIF. (Sept. 14, 11:15 a.m. ET) -- Surfboard makers now have a route for using leftover polyurethane dust – the result of shaping a surfboard from a block of foam.

Sales of surfboards generated more than $160.6 million in 2010 according to the 2010 Sima Retail Distribution Study. As part of their commitment to the environment, the Surf Industry Manufacturers Association (Sima) Board Builders’ Committee has been involved in a new solution for excess dust that funds a use for this waste.

California-based surfboard brands Lost Surfboards, Dewey Weber Surfboards, Soul Stix Surfboards, Stone Steps Manufacturing, T. Patterson Surfboards and Channel Islands Surfboards, along with foam manufacturers US Blanks and Surf Blanks America and cutting house Pro-Cam, have joined forces with the makers of Spillinex.

Through donating their leftover dust to Spillinex, the shaping dust is now being reused as an environmentally safe sorbent for use during oil spills. Spillinex is a powder compound that is used to contain and absorb a variety of liquids, and has the ability to absorb oil in water, leaving clean water after removal. Surfboard dust accounts for up to 80 percent of the Spillinex composition.

“As a surfboard brand owner and the Chairman of the Sima Board Builder Committee, I know I can speak for most surfboard manufacturers when I say how excited I am about being involved with the team from Spillinex to help re-purpose our excess foam dust,” said Shea Weber, Sima Board Builder Committee chairman and president of Dewey Weber Surfboards.

“Not only have they found a home for our dust, but they’ve also come up with a compound utilizing it so that it actually helps protect the environment. The board builder community is passionate about protecting the environment and I want to thank Spillinex for taking the initiative to reach out to the Sima Board Builder Committee and for allowing us to help them connect with some of our industry’s leaders to make this dream a reality.”

Spillinex has reused a total of about 100,000 pounds of polyurethane shaping dust. Board builders have come together with Spillinex to coordinate a dust pickup program, where Spillinex collects directly from the shapers and foam manufacturers’ facilities between 15,000 and 20,000 pounds a month.

For a complete version of this story, see www.urethanes-technology-international.com.


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