Recycled Watercraft

We may have discussed this before, but it merits revisiting. Do any kayak or canoe builders use recycled plastic? Seems like there would be a market for a good product made with household plastics. We gotta do better than recycling 3%, and this seems to be an opportunity with a receptive market.

The article at the link below indicates that most kayak builders do not use recycled plastic. One of their more telling comments is that "If you’re looking for a whitewater boat, you’re completely out of luck because recycled plastic materials aren’t considered strong enough to take the pounding." This might be a good time to discuss the benefits of a wood and canvas canoe even though they are not commonly made from recycled materials. However, they are mostly biodegradable and all of the metal fastenings can be recycled. The lovers of aluminum canoes are likely to point out that they can be recycled completely.

Benson

My Dagger Gradient, a creek boat from turn of the century, had a sticker on it claiming a fairly large percentage of recycled plastic. Probably HDPE, like from recycled milk jugs. But I don't know if kayaks are still made from the same materials today.

I think there are polyethylene canoes out there, like the discontinued Mad River adventure 14. I don't know how much recycled material they used. But it's a lousy material for canoes because it's heavy and floppy.

Well, that depends on the length, I guess. There's a few of these floating around here, and they're quite rigid. But heavy.
No idea if they're recycled....