Where to Recycle Your Used Wet Suit
Image: Fesenko, Adobe Stock
Your wetsuit is probably made from Neoprene, a form of rubber that does not biodegrade. In fact, wetsuit material is so durable, that there are tales of it being used as a liner for landfills. If you’d rather see your wetsuit have a second life as a yoga mat or bag than sit at the bottom of a landfill for a century, these companies will help you do so. All you need to do is send in your old wetsuit and let their sewing machines do the rest.
Suga
Suga upcycles old wet suits into durable yoga mats. You can turn your old suit in at these participating locations or ship your old wetsuit to:
Suga, LLC, 1106 2nd Street, Suite 862, Encinitas, CA 92024
Vissla
Surfrider and Vissla have teamed up to offer wet suit recycling as part of their annual Stoke Exchange Initiative. During the drop off period, old wet suits from any brand can be upcycled and given new life as yoga and changing mats. Vissla will offer up to 30 dollars off of a new Vissla suit in exchange for old suits. Wet suits can be dropped off at Vissla store locations in Long Beach, Huntington Beach or La Jolla or shipped to:
Lava Rubber, attn: Stoke Exchange
151 Industrial Way E. Suite A1
Eatontown, NJ 07724
The 2022 event runs from August through October 31, 2022.
Green Guru Gear
Green Guru Gear accepts old wetsuits to be upcycled into bags. You can mail your old wetsuits into:
Green Guru Upcycling
2500 47th Street Unit 12
Boulder, CO 80301
Before you do, email a picture of your old wetsuit to: recycling@greengurugear.com to make sure they can use it.
While traditionally-made wet suits are notoriously bad for the environment, there are companies making strides with new fabrics that tread lighter on the planet. Here are a few places where you can find Eco-Friendly Wet Suits for your next purchase.
