Thinking green while surfing the deep blue
THINKING green when you’re out in the deep blue may not be on everyone’s mind, but one Durban surfer hopes to change this.
Environmentally-conscious surfer John McCarthy, who took part in last weekend’s icy Four Elements challenge at the Durban beachfront, said while surfing may be a popular sport and recreational activity in the coastal city, it had its own environmental implications.
“There are 10 to 15 million surfers around the world, and depending on how much they surfed they could use five to six surfboards a year. These surfboards, which are not biodegradable, get tossed into landfill sites, adding to our waste every year.
“A professional surfer can go through 50 to 60 boards a year. The demand is huge,” said the 45-year-old.
He said not only were the chemicals, such as polyurethane (a synthetic resin), harmful to the environment, but also harmful to the people working with the products.
On the website www.greenersurfer.com, McCarthy discusses surfboards and other green issues facing the environment, such as the dumping of plastics in the ocean.
“A few years ago, after I became more conscious of what my sport was doing to the environment, I started creating surfboards made from old ones, and have shared the information with other people who want to go green.
“Surfboards can be made from recycling or upcycling old ones, so you reduce the demand for plastics and chemicals, or you can make boards from natural sources such as bamboo.”
His boards, under the label Ocean Child, are made out of 100% recycled material. Instead of fibreglass, natural fibres such as hemp and flax are used. Overseas, the trend in green surfing has caught on, and he exports overseas.
“In South Africa, and especially here in Durban, we are still educating people about the impact our actions have on the environment. When I walk with my boards people stop and ask me about them and it’s a chance for me to speak to people about why we must be more aware of what we buy, know where it comes from and how to change our habits,” McCarthy said.