A local yacht chandlery based in Plymouth’s Mayflower Marina has started offering free refills of Ecowork Marine’s sustainable yacht wash during August and September to Plymouth’s boat owners in a bid to raise awareness of better sustainable practices amongst Plymouth’s boat owners in Britain’s ‘Ocean City’
The Chandlery is part of PR Systems Marine Electronics, a local marine electronics company run by Matt and Alison Owen offering electronic and electrical installations for yachts. PR Systems has a well earned reputation for high quality work that takes them all over the UK and even world. They opened The Chandlery in 2021 during the pandemic when they were able to take on the lease of the shop unit next door.
Passionate about sustainability and the environment, Alison and Matt Owen have put environmental considerations at the forefront of their chandlery and where possible try to only stock for environmentally friendly solutions, including setting up an Ecoworks Marine refill wash station for customers to reuse old bottles rather than buying new bottles from the shelf. The company says that by just refilling from their yacht wash 10 litre refill station, they can save up to 2000 plastic bottles over some competitors' yacht wash products.
“When you’re out on the water, clean, clear seas free of litter always makes the experience more enjoyable, and if you happen to spot some wildlife alongside it creates lasting memories. There is a responsibility to protect our oceans and reduce our plastic use and we love that Ecoworks Marine has developed products that help us do just that, in fact we find the products so great we even use them at home! We’ve managed to convert many eco product sceptics and we are hoping we can change a few more minds with this promotion and we look forward to welcoming you to The Chandlery.”
Now The Chandlery is asking customers to reuse bottles and come and collect up to 200ml of yacht wash that will dilute to up 40 litres of ready to use yacht wash to test the product in order to convert people to a better way for the environment.
It’s an open secret that most boat care products end up in the sea after use or while being used. It’s very hard for boaters to avoid this when washing down boats on the water or even on the slipway. Many boat care products contain ingredients such as Ammonium chloride, Sulfuric acid, bronopol and other ingredients which have all shown to be dangerous to marine life. Ecoworks Yacht Wash contains none of these ingredients and is fully biodegradable making it much safer for marine life.
Plymouth is home to the UK’s first National Marine Park and the ‘Save Our Seabed’ campaign launched in July 2019, led by Natural England and funded by the EU LIFE Programme. The program aims to protect and restore sensitive seabed habitats which are at risk, especially seagrass. Seagrass is seen as a way of fighting climate change by absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as well as providing a natural habitat and haven for fish stocks and marine life such as jellyfish and seahorses. Today though, seagrass is considered critically endangered and is an EU Red Listed habitat, research shows the UK has lost at least 44% of its seagrass since 1936.
British Marine, the UK’s boating industry body says the pandemic brought a wave of new people into boating which the industry is very excited about and is seen as being good for coastal cities. However, there is fear for what this increase in boat use could mean for coastal environments.
Ecoworks Marine was founded by father and son team, Scott and Angus Johnston in 2015 and they pride themselves on providing yacht and marine care products that are much better for the environment. They already partner with Plymouth’s own Princess yachts as well as the likes of the 11th Hour Ocean Race Team. Not only do their products contain natural ingredients and are biodegradable but many of the products are concentrated saving on plastic, but the company also insists on using recycled rPET bottles that can be further recycled. In the last few years, they have gone one step further partnering with shops like The Chandlery to set up refill stations of their products for boaters.
Scott Johnston, the Managing Director of Ecoworks Marine says “Many boaters are unsure about the quality of eco products and whether they work as well as traditional boat cleaners. They do, it’s as simple as that and we’re passionate about providing boaters with products that are better for the ocean and even healthier for them while at the same time helping to reduce plastic use. We’re happy to partner with the great team at The Chandlery to show people there is a better way.”
You can head over to The Chandlery now to collect your free samples.