Steve Green Removes 166 Abandoned Fibreglass Yachts
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- Steve Green was pulled over by police just before Christmas while towing a dilapidated yacht in a VW campervan named Cecil, though he had not broken any laws.
- Clean Ocean Sailing relies on small charitable grants, crowdfunding, and volunteers, and Green spent £8,000 on credit cards last year to cover disposal costs.
- 166 abandoned fibreglass yachts in Cornwall's Helford and Fal rivers are leaking plastic and toxins, and marine biologists compare the embedded shards to asbestos.
- Corina Ciocan found over 11,000 fibreglass shards per kilogram of oyster tissue in Chichester harbour, highlighting the microplastic hazard.
- France's eco-contribution model has removed more than 16,000 boats since 2019 through free scrapping centres, a system Green urges Britain to adopt.
- Cornwall Harbours can remove abandoned boats using harbour revenues when owners cannot be charged, and Falmouth harbour chief Miles Carden calls for a circular economy for boat recycling.
Why it matters: Local marine life gains relief from toxic fibreglass microplastics, while taxpayers and harbour authorities bear the cost of removal; Green's personal finances suffer, highlighting the need for policy solutions like France's eco-contribution model to shift the burden from individuals to industry.
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