DES MOINES– Iowa boat owners can help protect the environment by following five simple tips all summer long:
• Take time to prepare the boat’s shrink wrap for recycling by removing vents, strapping or zippers. Only the plastic film can be recycled. Many shrink-wrap recycling programs are offered at the local level, so if the marina does not recycle, ask the county government. Some boaters find by carefully removing the wrap it can be reused for a second season.
• If trailering the boat to different waterways each summer, leave the uninvited aquatic hitchhikers at home by following shrink wrap “Clean, Drain, Dry,” ensuring the boat, trailer and motor are cleaned thoroughly (including any tackle or water sports gear) and allowed to dry completely before splashing in a different body of water.
• The earth is 71 percent water, but it’s no place for trash. Always have a trash receptacle aboard, and while underway, ensure nothing goes overboard. (A waste can with a closable lid helps.) A second receptacle for recyclables also helps and makes cleanup easier at the end of the boating day.
• Prevent a spill by refueling the boat with care. Always have an absorbent pad, fuel nozzle absorbent “donut,” or “bib” (to soak up back splashes) when pumping. Actively listen to fuel being dispensed into the fuel nozzle receptacle. Slow down the dispensing pump as fuel reaches the top of the tank– usually when you hear bubbling or gurgling noises rising from the fuel filler tube. Refuel portable tanks ashore.
• Help keep discarded fishing line and soft baits out of the water by building a fishing line recycling bin and placing it in your community. To learn how, go to BoatUS.org/Monofilament.