Reclaimed Beach Litter Used in Surfboards

Surfer and founder of Spirare Surfboards Kevin Cunningham uses sustainable materials in his designs such as recycled foam cores. His new series will incorporate reclaimed ocean trash.

Amid the beauty of ocean waves and sandy shores is an all too frequent outlier: garbage.

Surfer Kevin Cunningham spends a good deal of time near the water and reports first-hand that “the beaches we all love to visit are being plagued with trash; trash that washes up onto the shores from the massive drifts of debris in the ocean.”

But as the designer behind Spirare Surfboards, Cunningham also found himself in a position to do something about it. The avid surfer and art school graduate decided to launch a series of boards that incorporate reclaimed debris such as plastic and glass into its skin.

Examples include “plastic bags woven into a strengthening cloth; plastic bottles cut up and reassembled into fins, driftwood inlayed into intrinsic patterns, and many other possibilities,” he writes on his website.

Cunningham already produces boards with a recycled foam interior, however these new boards are still in the idea stage: the goal, with funding through Kickstarter, is to create a series of functional boards with recycled garbage that double as works of art for gallery display around the country, followed by a signed series of 100 boards for sale.

You may also like…
The Great American Cleanup is Here
How You Can Save the Oceans
I Didn’t Know That Was Recyclable!

As of June 17th 2011 we have upgraded our comment system to use Facebook comments. The below comments are closed and are listed for historical purposes.

2 Archived Comments

  1. Jeff Peterson

    posted on March 10th, 2011 at 11:45 am

    This is awesome. I need to get my hands on one of these boards and give it a go. The surfboard looks really nice!

  2. Land Stakes

    posted on April 11th, 2011 at 2:58 pm

    Never let anyone stop you from imagining a clean environment.

    Health is a result of environmental signals to your DNA.

    Feel free to contact me if you want a link from my website. http://LandStakes.com

    In hope of Peace & Synergy & Holo Pono

Recently Added to Plastic

  • Kids Petition Crayola to Recycle Markers

    Written by Jenn Savedge, Mother Nature Network

    A group of elementary school students concerned about the environmental impact of Crayola products has launched Crayola: Make Your Mark!, a fast-growing campaign on Change.org that has already gained more than 59,000 signatures.

    The students, …

  • 16 Billion Beverage Containers Recycled in Calif. Last Year

    California might be the most populous state in the country at nearly 38 million people, but it’s high recycling rates are still staggering.

    According to CalRecycle’s Biannual Report of Beverage Container Sales, Returns, Redemption, and Recycling Rates, released last week, Californians …

  • San Fran Turns Transit Tickets into Trees

    It’s a common dilemma for regular subway riders: What do you do with all those leftover tickets with just a few cents of remaining value?

    San Francisco residents had a few disposal options for their old tickets from the Bay Area …

Earth911

Earth911 helps consumers find local recycling information through the largest and most accurate recycling directory in the U.S. Read today's top green lifestyle tips and ideas. Learn how we help businesses.