1 General Assembly – Aarhus 19-20 October, 2013

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GENERAL PRINCIPLES

Based on the maximum environmental, economic and social sustainability required by 2008/98/ EC Directive, it identifies in the setting up of a specific infrastructural network the ability to achieve it, IAW the key Community approach for a “Green Economy”

The existing infrastructures and the information networks on ELB treatment for complex products, such as boats, do not provide an adequate sustainability able to comply with these basic principles.

The ELB issue, as debated at the March ’13 General Assembly, ultimately tends to the solution of a recognized huge problem on the treatment of boats at their end of life

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NATIONAL SITUATIONS

Denmark recognizes that the problem of complex products of other type (wind turbines blades) already lasts and is important for the Country in view of workable and economic solutions

France, Italy and Spain acknowledge this problem heavily affects other plastic products regularly used in the modern life: it’s a duty and an opportunity to be exploited !!!

Switzerland reports usual procedure of exporting boats to other Less Technologically Advanced Countries

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NATIONAL SITUATIONS

in Finland a Company manages these boats through usual practices of waste management. Even this experience leads finally to the "landfill" of the FRP, as others see the possibility of incineration

Denmark mentions the possibility of setting them to fire,

In Norway ELBs treated as special waste, very expensive for the boat owner to get rid of ELBs.

France refers to General Responsibilities of producers and to voluntary program for ELB trough APER

In general, the treatment modalities for ELB are left at level of occasional expedients:

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NATIONAL SITUATIONS

in the Netherlands moulds are crushed and often used as

road fill or jetty planks

in Spain currently the chances to make possible the recycling of the FRP could be uneconomic

Italy stresses systems designs to disassemble, re-use

and recycle the pleasure craft or technologies to reprocess its components for FRP and EPS, that through the up cycling realize techno-polymers by refusal to generate innovative products available for the market

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DIFFERENT PERCEPTIONS

The analysis by the WG focused on the solutions adopted in different European countries and resulting in:

Lack of clear and a unique regulatory/cultural reference; countries experience ELB systems particularly heterogeneous, and hardly comparable to today's EC ruling on wastes

it’s based on the hierarchy for the practices of waste management preferring the reduction, reuse and recycling of material components rather than the incineration and landfill disposal

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DIFFERENT PERCEPTIONS

The complexity of the product of marine origin, its material composition, the difficulty of its disassembly, the “walking speed” of obsolescence and the same limited quantitative of these products, have prevented in this field the due and significant deal of attention

Another important factor is the economically disadvantageous of the ELB operations, especially for the fact that the majority of the material that composes a nautical unit or a mold is the FRP, a thermosetting and not recyclable material

Same problems in other areas of daily activities, so it is necessary to be able to tackle it in a similar way as to make possible a greater critical mass and a better, definitive solution

Pleasure boats are only a part of the problem linked to the composites; countless FRP sinks and vans, giant wind farm blades, products of the aviation industry and minesweepers

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A NEW PROJECT

In Italy, under the aegis of the Environment and Transports Ministries and with the Fondazione Sviluppo Sostenibile’s support, UCINA has developed an ELB- project, bearing in mind mainly the instances of the Green Economy and therefore the environmental, social and economic sustainability for all the stakeholders (Boaters and Industry)

Key factor is the reference technology for the up-cycling of the FRP; it allows to obtain a new techno-polymer from the cold extrusion of EPS and FRP. Developed in Italy at the ICTP/CNR of Pozzuoli (Na) it helps to exploit the products of plastic scrap and dismantling, as well as a long series of inert materials

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THE PROJECT

The cycle that ELB is meant to provide, is to achieve the reduction, reuse and recycling of all materials from the activities of end of life of the products

It was economically evaluated and allows not only the creation of new jobs and then of a new economy on the boat’s disassembly, but also the implementation of the new techno-polymers

Moreover it foresees, for boats of future design, the ability to identify manufacturing processes capable of promoting recycling through the adoption of design criteria for re-cycling, similarly to what is already practiced in other areas, such as for example the automotive

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STEMMING BENEFITS

Focusing to the eco-sustainability, the project meets the most current organizational principles and aims to provide benefits for different groups of people who, in a distinctive way, can participate in the achievement of the ELB objectives

Boaters represent an important part of Society as can play an important role for the solution of these problems, under two main aspects:

1. they are “users” and contextually “environmental sentinels”

2. as economically “sensitive subjects”, can exert huge influence

The two aspects are closely related, representing at the same time the target and the tool for the ELB’s embodiment

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UNI TECHNICAL STANDARDS

The just adopted and published norm UNI 11509:2013 is the first in this field and, if consistent with the EBA interests, could tangibly take the level of Guideline even for our purposes, in order to propose the European Commission to unambiguously and clearly address the problem

In Italy, UNI (the relevant Authority for Unification, that approves technical standards) has developed a corpus of technical rules specifically dealing with the treatment of end of life boats up to 24 m

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KEY POINTS

The norm responds to the needs of the social community, boat users, designers, shipbuilding industry, national distributors of product, with focus on protection of human health and respect for the environment

The standard defines terminology and prescriptions for treatment of pleasure craft up to 24 mt, as well as the relationships between owners and entities responsible for the ELB treatment

Requirements for the platforms of ELB treatment

Indications for the improvement of the ELB treatment

Terms and Definitions

Glossary

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CONTRIBUTION TO THE DEVELOPMENT/SOLUTION OF THE PROBLEM

ELBWG has achieved a good level of sharing of knowledge on the subject

The work, disseminated in various international Fora, has sparked interesting debates and appreciation for the relevance of the activity carried out as well as for the achieved findings

The joint recognition that knowledge are not unique, as well as dissimilar are stocks and the perception of the problem, certainly constitute a good result the WG and the EBA in its entirety can be proud of.

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CONTRIBUTION TO THE PROBLEM’S DEVELOPMENT/SOLUTION

The final potential objective achievable by ELBWG could be for EBA to become the promoter towards the European Commission not only of the knowledge problem, currently being that Body only focused on greater and non FRP ships, but also of the new possible solutions through the boats components’ re-use/up-cycling, as stressed in the Palma Assembly presentation and in line with the EC Directive

Encompass different relevant

proposals on this issue

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A JOINT PATH

The WG could develop pertinent recommendations/guidelines to be approved and submitted at EC level, with the aim they "rank higher" and substantially be implemented in the Community framework

EBI is similarly working along this line and, if consistent with the EBA interests, the issue could be debated within the Commission with identity of views and convergence of objectives both on the part of the industry and the boaters

A unitary vision of both the stakeholders would in fact more streamline the process of acquisition of the relevant principles and less problematic the enactment of pertinent guidelines or recommendations

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CONCLUSIONS

Key objectives are to:

make every effort to sort out the ELB problem taking into consideration the boaters interests and concerns;

as citizens, suggest for the ELB treatment technical procedures which are eco-friendly or aimed at stemming the impact on the habitat;

understand that the environmental sustainability, together with the technology, the aesthetic and the functionality of the craft, represents today a differentiation factor able to construct a new competitive advantage for boating, adding those “plus essentials” that can give lifeblood to the field of recreational boating at any level, with predictable decrease of costs and benefits for future boaters’ generations.

CURRENT SITUATION

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THANKS FOR YOUR KIND ATTENTION

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Any

Questions?

P