– Preventing Polystyrene Pollution in Miami Beach Waterways –
Showcasing more than 500 boats and superyachts from the world’s foremost custom boat builders, the 2018 Miami Yacht Show starting on Thursday, February 15, will take place on the Miami Beach Indian Creek waterway for another year without a trace of trash.
“Docked alongside iconic Collins Avenue, each and every float dock will now be 100 percent fully-encapsulated to eliminate any floating Styrofoam contaminating the show site waterway,” shared Miami Beach City Manager Jimmy L. Morales.
In 2015, the City of Miami Beach and show management collaborated to develop a mitigation plan, which would encase all float drums in inventory within five years – working proactively to eliminate the root cause of contamination. Originally set to be complete in 2020, the project has been fast tracked to completion two years ahead of schedule.
“Although the financial impact was quite large, we felt the timeline reduction was a ‘must do’ to eliminate our negative impact to the environment,” said Show Management Vice President Rob Correa.
During the initial manufacturing and assembly processes, Show Management found that if they added manufacturing equipment, increased transportation frequencies and improved assembly processes, they would be able to complete the project two years ahead of schedule. The comprehensive plan includes the installation of floating protection bombs throughout the show site, utilization of water and land cleanup crews, and a reduction of show impacts by strategic scheduling of load in and load outs.
The 2018 yacht showcase will take place on Collins Avenue from 41 Street to 54 Street from Thursday, February 15 to Monday, February 19, 2018.
