Valhalla Boatworks steps on board with Yamaha to join their Rightwaters Plastics Recycling Program
Valhalla Boatworks is the most recent addition to the list of boat manufacturers currently recycling plastic protective covers through the Yamaha Rightwaters plastics recycling program. To date, the program, which launched in August 2021, is responsible for returning 17,911 pounds of Polyethylene and Polypropylene sheet plastics back into base materials, reducing the amount of plastics in U.S. waterways.
Created, owned and operated by the Viking Yacht Company, Valhalla Boatworks offers four center consoles from 33 to 55 feet and claims the title of being the world leader in semi-custom high-performance luxury center console boats.
“Yamaha Rightwaters, through initiatives such as the plastic recycling program, continues to create opportunities for marine sustainability and conservation. Valhalla Boatworks is enthusiastic about being part of the journey,” says John Leek IV, General Manager of Viking Mullica. “By participating in this program, it’s our hope that we can help significantly reduce plastic in the nation’s waters.”
The Yamaha Rightwaters plastics recycling program leverages a reverse logistics strategy to return the protective covers from select boat builders, retail dealers and its three boat production facilities. Additional contributing manufacturers include Contender® Boats, Regulator Marine, Xpress® Boats, Yamaha Jet Boat Manufacturing (YJBM), Skeeter® and G3® Boats.
The materials ship from participating boat builders and dealers to Tommy Nobis Enterprises, which separates recyclable plastics from other materials, such as plastic zippers, cords and eyelets. Tommy Nobis Enterprises then ships the material – known as “feedstock” in the recycling industry – to Nexus for processing into raw materials, which range from gasses to waxes. Those materials are then used for other products.
Yamaha Rightwaters is a national sustainability program that encompasses all of Yamaha Marine’s conservation and water quality efforts. Program initiatives include habitat restoration, support for scientific research, mitigation of invasive species, the reduction of marine debris and environmental stewardship education. Yamaha Rightwaters reinforces Yamaha’s long-standing history of natural resource conservation, support of sustainable recreational fishing and water resources and Angler Code of Ethics, which requires pro anglers to adhere to principles of stewardship for all marine resources.
Yamaha’s U.S. Marine Business Unit, based in Kennesaw, Ga., is responsible for the sales, marketing, and distribution of Yamaha Marine products in the U.S. including Yamaha Outboards, Yamaha WaveRunners®, Yamaha Boats, G3 Boats and Skeeter Boats. Supporting 2,400 dealers and boat builders nationwide, Yamaha is the industry leader in reliability, performance, technology and customer service.
Nexus®, based in Atlanta, Ga., is an end-to-end plastics recycling business – an operational, commercially scaled, continuous system. The Nexus® plant in Atlanta is the first multi-polymer pyrolysis operation in the US to receive ISCC Plus™ certification. Nexus has developed a highly efficient system built at low capital cost and without a need for catalysts or post-processing, yielding clean, ISCC Plus™ on-specification outputs. Nexus® has converted more than 2.5 million pounds and counting of landfill-bound plastics into virgin resins for customers like Royal Dutch Shell and Chevron Phillips Chemical®. Investors include Cox Enterprises®, a $21-billion family-owned business committed to global sustainability. The Nexus® process is efficient, environmentally friendly, and encompasses rigorous operational and business standards. The company’s operating philosophy is founded on the principle that for any recycling solution to succeed, it must be profitable, technically proven at scale, and operate as a robust stand-along business, while creating a meaningful and positive environmental impact.
