Cost-Effective Logistics for Cleveland Metroparks Clean Marina Program

Boat owners use plastic low-density polyethylene (LDPE) “shrink wrap" to protect their boats over the winter, and dispose the plastic in the spring as part of the de-winterizing process. In 2019, Cleveland Metroparks decided to recycle this plastic.

To do so, Metroparks needed collection stations so boaters could drop off the shrink wrap. The LDPE could not be mixed with regular recycling waste streams, so it had to be collected separately. The organization then had to transport the plastic to the recycler at the end of the April-June collection window.

Lloyd decided on three collection locations, two of which used cardboard containers to store the plastic. But the third location, the Riverfront, presented some unique challenges. First, the collection device needed to be both weatherproof and offer easy access for marina employees. Second, although she is in charge of collecting the recycled material at the Riverfront location, Lloyd doesn't manage it herself, unlike the other two marinas. So she wanted to make life easier for the Riverfront manager by working with a storage company that could both help collect the plastic and drop it off at the recycling center.

Cleveland Metroparks worked with PODS to schedule delivery of one container to the Riverfront location. The unit was clean and easily accessible, Lloyd says. At the Cuyahoga location, boaters left the shrink wrap at the marina office during the collection period. Marina employees ensured the collected shrink wrap was in good condition and stored the bales in the PODS container. At the end of the two months, PODS picked up the Riverfront container, delivered it to the recycling location 50 miles away, and unloaded the collected plastic. “That saved us the expense of drop off and pickup of those materials," Lloyd says.