In 2025 we did 67-plus tons of shrink wrap between the five depots and a private hauler that had joined the program
— Kari Parcell, Barnstable County Cooperative Extension
Boat Coats Get a Second Life
Five Cape Cod transfer stations are now accepting boat shrink wrap in a model program that keeps huge volumes of plastic out of landfills
Click on image to watch short news report.
14 May 2026 – CHATHAM, MA – When boats on Cape Cod lose their winter shrink wrap coats, a model program provides a way to recycles the material and keep huge mountains of plastic out of landfills.
While the wrapping keeps boats safe and secure during the cold snowy months it also leaves behind about 30 pounds of plastic waste – per boat. With Cape Cod’s population of boats that waste adds up to tons upon tons of plastic.
However, for the past several years a model program in Barnstable county flips what would be those mountains of bulky landfill waste into the recycle market instead.
How much shrink wrap do Cape Cod boats generate?
“In 2025 we did 67-plus tons of shrink wrap between the five depots and a private hauler that had joined the program,” explained Kari Parcell, solid waste and recycling coordination for the Cape and Islands at the Barnstable County Cape Cod Cooperative Extension.
Where did the boat shrink wrap program begin?
Parcell began working with a pilot WHOI program in 2019. Today, the collaboration has built the Cape Cod program into a national model.
In its first year, it recycled one ton – and last year redirected 67.5 tons of boat shrink warp plastic out of the landfill stream and into the recycling market.
How widespread is the shrink wrap challenge?
“You think how many how many marinas that Chatham has, how many commercial boatyards Chatham has… It’s not just in Chatham that those marina and boat yards are dealing with, they are regional boatyards,” Robert Faley Director of Public Works, Town of Chatham
“It is a regional problem.”
What is a shrink wrap “burrito”?
Chatham is one of five Cape transfer stations serving as a depot. Bourne, Eastham, Falmouth, and Wellfleet, also offer a collection station for the bundled shrink wrap, affectionally called the burrito.
Chatham transfer station foreman David Lusher explains that a shrink-wrap “burrito” has no rope, no zipper, and no hard plastic parts, and is tied together with strips of the shrink-wrap itself. He says its quick and easy for boat owners to cut out the non-recyclable zipper and any hard plastic ports and pull out the rope before dropping off the shrink wrap.
How does the market work?
The catch – and reason why a regional approach works – lies in the volume markets require. Municipalities as well as private haulers banding together let the region run a program at a scale that works.
“The program has evolved and the markets have opened up,” she added, pointing out that originally the recycle market took only white wrap, but today has expanded to work with clear and blue shrink-wrap as well.
How is the boat shrink wrap recycled?
The Cape’s uncountable number of boats send the shrink wrap bundles to recycling company in Brockton, which in turns sells it to manufacturers who convert it into ‘nurdles,’ ” explained Parcell.
These small plastic beads become a raw materials for manufacturing everything from new boat shrink wraps to highway barriers to plastic coffee lids.
“It’s a brand new product again,” she said.
Boat Shrink Wrap Recycling Locations:
Through July 31 2026; transfer station hours vary at participating depots in:
- Bourne
- Chatham
- Eastham (free for Eastham residents, $10 for others)
- Falmouth
- Wellfleet (for Wellfleet, Truro, and Provincetown residents only)
For more information
WHOI Sea Grant – Shrink wrap recycling page https://seagrant.whoi.edu/community-engagement/shrinkwraprecycling/
Barnstable County – Boat shrink wrap information https://www.capecod.gov/2026/04/06/boat-shrink-wrap-recycling-now-open-on-cape-cod/
