Where To Recycle Your Boat’s Shrink Wrap On Cape Cod

Shrink wrap should be bundled like a sleeping bag when recycled. WHOI Photo

Removing your boat’s shrink wrap in the spring is one of the most joyous moments of the year for boaters. But it’s not without its hassles.

For boaters who understandably don’t want to dump all of that plastic into a landfill, it presents a problem: What to do with all of that shrink wrap?

On Cape Cod, boaters have several places they can go to recycle their boat’s shrink wrap.

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Sea Grant program partners with Cape Cod Cooperative Extension and transfer stations at towns across the Cape to recycle boat shrink wrap.

Boaters can find shrink wrap recycling locations in five Cape Cod towns (see below). The collection program runs from April 1 to July 31. The shrink wrap should be rolled up and bundled like a sleeping bag when recycled.

The following are shrink wrap recycling locations on Cape Cod:

Bourne Int. Solid Waste Management Facility
Route 28
201 MacArthur Bvd.
Bourne, MA 02532

♦ Hours: Mon.-Fri., 7 am – 3 pm; Sat., 7 am – noon
♦ Details: Shrink wrap collection is free for Cape residents. No sticker required. Commercial entities (e.g., boatyards, marinas, yacht clubs) will be required to go over the scale and charged $160/ton. All material must be free of non-shrink wrap material.

Chatham Transfer Station
97 Sam Ryder Road
Chatham, MA 02633

♦ Hours: Thurs.-Tues., 8 am – 4 pm
♦ Details: Shrink wrap collection is free for Cape residents. No sticker required. Commercial entities (e.g., boatyards, marinas, yacht clubs) will be charged $50/ton. All material must be clean and free of non-shrink wrap material.

Eastham Transfer Station
555 Old Orchard Road
Eastham, MA 02642

♦ Hours: Sat.-Wed., 7:30 am – 3:00 pm
♦ Details: Shrink wrap collection is free for Eastham residents. Non-Eastham residents will be charged $10. Commercial entities (e.g., boatyards, marinas, yacht clubs) will be charged $165/ton. All material must be clean and free of non-shrink wrap material.

Falmouth Waste Management Facility
458 Thomas B Landers Rd
East Falmouth, MA 02536

♦ Hours: Tues.-Sat., 8 am – 2:30 pm
♦ Details: Shrink wrap collection is free for Cape residents. This facility does not accept shrink wrap from commercial entities (e.g., haulers, marinas, yacht clubs and boatyards).

Wellfleet Transfer/Recycling Center
370 Coles Neck Road
Wellfleet, MA 02667

♦ Hours: Fri.–Tues., 8 am – 3:30 pm
♦ Details: Shrink wrap collection is free for residents and businesses in Wellfleet, Truro, and Provincetown only.