Project to stop Cornwall becoming a wetsuit graveyard

With tons of wetsuits ending up in landfill every year, one charity is hoping the notoriously hard-to-recycle items can be turned into a force for good. It is estimated that approximately 380 tons of non-recyclable neoprene is generated each year. Due to Cornwall’s prime reputation as a holiday destination and the surf capital of the UK, around 50% of this waste comes from the county, making it a wetsuit graveyard.

Now a children’s charity believes it has found a solution that will be good for the planet and help raise vital funds so it can continue to help people through surf therapy. The Wave Project, which is based in Newquay, is the world’s first surf therapy course funded by a government health service. It has now received funding to tackle wetsuit pollution not just in Cornwall, but further afield.

The Wetsuit Reuse Scheme has received £116,000 from the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Good Growth Programme, a £137m local investment fund managed by Cornwall Council and funded by the UK Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund. The project sees the Wave Project working with recycling company SUEZ to collect discarded wetsuits so they can be repaired and sold in the charity’s shop or recycled into new items.

Read more: Newquay’s Wave Project saves young lives through the power of the sea

Read more: From ‘sausage fest’ to gentrification, how Newquay turned a corner

As part of the scheme, dedicated wetsuit recycling bins are placed at Cornwall Council’s household waste recycling centres, managed by SUEZ. Discarded suits are collected and transported to a brand new repair shop in Newquay. A team will clean and, if necessary, repair the costumes for resale at the charity shop.

Project Wave said its prices range from £20 to £60, which is a fraction of a new suit, meaning visitors and locals alike will no longer have to spend hundreds of pounds on something on who might not use it that often. Project Wave said any wetsuits that cannot be repaired will be recycled into new products such as bags, pillows and mats.

Ramon Van de Velde, executive director at The Wave Project, said that tThe pre-loved wetsuit scheme follows a growing urgency to tackle the environmental crisis caused by fast fashion and throwaway culture. With clothing and textiles estimated to account for up to 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions, initiatives like this offer a blueprint for a more circular economy for specialized gear like wetsuits.

Ramon said that if successful, the project would be rolled out nationwide, preventing tons of non-recyclable waste from ending up in landfills or polluting the oceans.

He said: “The Wave Project is improving the health and wellbeing of children across the UK through surf therapy and the healing powers of the ocean. This much-loved wetsuit scheme not only raises vital funds to enable the charity to help more children.

“It also makes the sea more accessible to people who can’t otherwise afford wetsuits, and of course it’s important to get wetsuits out of the waste cycle. This really is a win-win-win. We are truly grateful to the Government’s Good Growth Fund. and SUEZ for providing the funding to get this project off the ground. If the Cornwall pilot proves successful, we hope to roll it out nationally.”

Craig Mouatt, processing contract manager for SUEZ recycling and recovery UK in Cornwall, added: “As a triple bottom line business, we are always looking for innovative ways to protect the planet while supporting the communities we serve and through this initiative we can help raise funds to support the important work The Wave Project does while improving and protecting the environment.”