Jaguar Land Rover moves into surfboards from scrap PU

Whitley, UK – Scrap polyurethane foam used in the design process by Jaguar Land Rover is being recycled into surfboards and paddle boards.

The Waste to Wave a surfboard, has been created using recycled polyurethane armatures used in early clay design models. The surfboard was created with SkunkWorks Surf Co and tested by the English women's open surfing champion surfer, Lucy Campbell, off the coast of Northern Ireland.

It was hand built to the exact dimensions of (5’7" x 18 3/8" x 2 3/16") (1707 x 467 x 55.6 mm) which is required by Campbell who is competing on the global circuit.

It has carbon fibre rails from the nose and a carbon strip in the from the tail for additional strength while allowing flex to push through any high-intensity manoeuvres, Jaguar Land Rover said.

The boards are made with polyurethane from the skeleton of clay models which are normally destroyed was the car is launched. While the clay is recycled, and reused on site, the polyurethane is often thrown away.

Now, Jaguar Land Rover said, it is ensuring that ‘all plastic is recovered and sliced into blocks ready for second life as surfboards or paddle boards.’

The first surfboard was created from a discovery sport clay model that is broken down on June 2017.

Campbell said ‘when I first heard about this project I was so excited to be part of it. The ocean is a big part of my life so helping to raise awareness of the need to preserve it is so important to me. I did not know much about car design process and it has been fascinating to learn about how Jaguar Land Rover is giving a second life to its materials in this way. Getting out into the water and trying the board out for the first time was awesome.’

Ricky Martin, co-founder of SkunkWorks Surf said ‘I'm a keen surfer so we aim to create sustainable boards that can ride the waves is great. When Jaguar Land Rover approached us with the idea of reusing the polyurethane we couldn't wait to get started in helping reduce their waste.’