A new spin on circular economics

Stories about plastic pollution and its effects on the marine environment and wildlife are distressingly profuse and invariably harrowing. We all play our part in rolling back this tide but sometimes the odds seem insurmountable. Then something changes.

When launching our refreshed Discover the difference brand at the Monaco Yacht show, we wanted it to highlight our new perspective on the situation. The inspiration for our Ecobooth developed from a conversation shared between a Burgess broker and a delegate at the Ocean Talks conference held at the Royal Geographical Society in London.

The company is based in north west London and works out of a facility powered by renewables, producing zero waste and zero emissions. Inside waste plastic is ground down and repurposed using 3D printers, presses and extruders to create sustainable event stands and furniture. It's delivered using electric vehicles and returned afterwards to be recycled again.

They created two welcome areas for our Monaco Yacht Show stand using 1.2 tonnes of plastic recovered from oceans and beaches and painted it with VOC-free, water-based paint. In another moment of serendipity, a sample of decking in the office introduced us to Lignia, an FSC certified sustainable softwood treated to be as durable as hardwood. Spirit Yachts recently decked one of its 50ft yachts with Lignia as it's a sustainable and convincing alternative to Burmese teak.

While most of the stands and furniture were returned to Ecobooth for repurposing after the show, a few chairs and a table stayed in Monaco to feature in an initiative supported by the Monaco Government that formed a part of the European Week for Waste Reduction. During the week the furniture was on display at the Stars'n'Bars sports bar and seems to have gone down well.

Plastic in oceans is a pervasive and pernicious problem and we're going to need to be innovative to solve it. Treating it as a resource in a circular economy rather than waste is a great example of the kind of mindset we need to adopt. Thank you Ecobooth.

To find out more about Burgess’ yachts for sale and yachts for charter, please contact a Burgess broker. Alternatively, get in touch with one of our offices directly: London, Monaco, New York, Miami, Singapore or all other locations.

- Yachts, prices and availability are correct at the time of publication.