Project to give second life to sailing waste

Each year, around 2,000 tonnes of polyethene terephthalate (PET) sails used by the global marine sector are decommissioned or damaged beyond repair, with the majority either remaining in storage or sent to landfill.

Now, Sustainable Sailing – a start-up established by two brothers with backgrounds in sailing and chemistry – is aiming to find alternative ways to process this type of waste.  

A research collaboration between the company and the Sadler Lab at Edinburgh University has received funding through Innovate UK’s bio-based manufacturing Launchpad competition for Scotland and is also supported by the Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre (IBioIC).

Drawing on the expertise of the Sadler group, the team has identified an opportunity to use the waste sails as a raw material for high-value chemical compounds traditionally derived from petrochemicals.

Sails are manufactured using hard-wearing synthetic textiles to withstand harsh ocean environments and extreme weather conditions, but can need replacing every five years. Furthermore, professional racing teams go through several sails per event and there are currently limited options for recycling these technical-grade materials.