Boat DIGEST project is at its halfway stage now (Newsletter nº3)

NEWSLETTER nº3

The project which started in the autumn last year is set to finish in September 2015. All of the deadlines have been kept so far and most importantly, we have progressed with our work. During the last months important information from the interested parties has been gathered. Based on this input, we have proposed recommendations for recreational craft owners and analysed training needs for dismantlers. The next steps will include coming up with training contents and guidelines for both owners and dismantlers. So there is still a lot to keep us busy for the next year and we look forward to receiving even more contributions and feedback from all those concerned.

BoatDIGEST consortium during the last project meeting in Izmir.

Survey results: what boat owners & dismantlers know & think

Are recreational craft owners ready to pay for their old boat to be dismantled? What are the most common practices and equipment used while disassembling such boats? These are some of the many questions answered by boat owners and dismantlers in the course of Boat DIGEST project’s surveys.

Interviews, online questionnaires and workshops carried out by the Boat DIGEST partners this year helped gather information from, among other countries: France, Italy, Spain, Turkey and the United Kingdom. These valuable inputs covered the current practices and attitudes of recreational craft owners and dismantlers, in relation to end-of-life boat issues.

The detailed results of the surveys for recreational craft owners are available on: http://www.boatdigest.eu/owner-graphics.asp

And for dismantlers on:
http://www.boatdigest.eu/dismantler-graphics.asp

Boat owners are invited to fill in and return the questionnaires (available in English, Spanish, Italian, Turkish and French) until the middle of 2015, using this link: http://www.boatdigest.eu/diseminate.asp

Next steps: developing awareness & training contents

Information gathered during the first half of the project (see article about survey results) will now help Boat DIGEST to come up with the “awareness module for recreational craft owners” and a “training module for dismantlers”.
The first one will address issues related to end-of-life boats at the EU level, owners’ responsibilities and available solutions, as well as information about the environmental impacts of abandoned boats.
The training module for dismantlers will look at the environmental effects of dismantling and suggest the best available practices. It will also provide safety information and recommendations for the personal protective equipment to be used by people involved in disassembling and recycling boats.

Additionally, a set of guidelines will be developed for marinas and nautical associations, in order to provide them with key information and help them address the end-of-life related problems.
To complement the modules and strengthen the messages, visual material will be created and a pilot training will start running throughout Europe (via a web-based e-learning platform) by the middle of 2015.

If you are a recreational craft owner or a dismantler and you wish to participate in this pilot training, please send a message to contact@boatdigest.eu.

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Please find the 3rd BoatDIGEST Newsletter here.

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More information about the project at www.boatdigest.eu and on Twitter.

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