Last week, EuCIA took part in the second meeting of the Network of Stakeholders on End-of-Life Boats and Composites. This event in Brussels was organised by European Boating Industry (EBI) and the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG MARE).
EuCIA’s Managing Director Raphaël Pleynet joined more than 50 participants, including EC departments, national authorities, and stakeholders from both the composite materials and boating value chains. The group is working to develop a common EU approach and effective solutions for this key sector of the marine industry and builds on the 2023 Roadmap on the implementation of the circular economy for EoL recreational boats developed by EBI with DG MARE.
An interesting debate explored how circularity of composite materials will increase European resilience, and what is needed to succeed:
- Identify the blocking points to drive specific actions;
- Coordinate actions across Europe, harmonise the rules and support scalable recycling solutions;
- Join forces across the value chain to reach industrial scale and then realise a business case;
- Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is also an interesting tool to accelerate (finance) circularity (e.g. in France, more than 16,000 abandoned boats have been treated, around 3000 boats/year).
All these points are key objectives of European Circular Composites Alliance (ECCA), Raphaël explained.
The discussion also covered the following topics:
- The upcoming Circular Economy Act and its implications for boats and composites;
- Practical challenges in setting up collection, dismantling and recycling systems across Member States;
- Industry and cross-sector input on composites circularity and regulatory gaps.
The meeting was co-chaired by Felix Leinemann, Head of Unit, Blue Economy Sectors, Aquaculture and Maritime Spatial Planning, and Linos Voskarides, Policy Officer, DG MARE.
From left to right: Alvaro Urdiales and Marina Palumbo Cardella (EBI), Linos Voskarides, Felix Leinemann, and Philip Easthill (EBI). (Picture EuCIA.)
Advancing composites circularity
EuCIA is committed to working with all stakeholders to create a circular economy for composite materials and advance sustainability in boating and other industries using composites. Through the ECCA, a sectorial alliance of EuCIA launched in 2025, we are sharing best practices and developing strategies to address current barriers to achieving full composites circularity.
Together with EBI and other industry associations we have identified several regulatory solutions that could enable the deployment and commercialisation of sustainable waste treatment solutions for end-of-life composites. Our policy asks focus on three areas:
- supporting the business case for recycled materials;
- strengthening waste classification and traceability; and
- ensuring technology neutrality in recycling pathways.
Read the joint position paper Circular Economy Act and Composites on the EuCIA Knowledge Hub.
