{"id":156631,"date":"2026-06-06T14:59:16","date_gmt":"2026-06-06T21:59:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=156631"},"modified":"2026-06-06T14:59:16","modified_gmt":"2026-06-06T21:59:16","slug":"from-scrapped-fishing-boats-to-affordable-homes-a-new-circular-economy-for-sri-lanka","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2026\/06\/06\/from-scrapped-fishing-boats-to-affordable-homes-a-new-circular-economy-for-sri-lanka\/","title":{"rendered":"From Scrapped Fishing Boats to Affordable Homes: A New Circular Economy for Sri Lanka"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dr Sarath Obeysekera<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

 Million-Dollar Opportunity Floating in Our Harbours<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How FRP Boat Waste Can Be Recycled<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Old fishing boats and pleasure craft are mainly made from fiberglass reinforced polyester or vinyl ester resin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The scrap can be:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Mechanically ground<\/strong> into fiberglass powder and short fibers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Mixed with new resin, fillers, and additives.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Molded or pultruded into composite boards, panels, or beams.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Alternatively:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    • Fiberglass powder can be used as a filler in concrete.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Recovered fibers can reinforce polymer composites.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Waste FRP can be incorporated into lightweight construction products.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      The Challenge for Load-Bearing Beams<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      Structural beams require:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \n
      • Predictable strength<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Long-term durability<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Fire resistance<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Compliance with building codes<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

        Recycled FRP powder alone is usually not strong enough to replace steel or reinforced concrete beams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        A more realistic approach is:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          \n
        • Hybrid beams using recycled FRP + new glass fibers + resin.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Composite floor panels.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Roof trusses.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Wall panels.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Formwork systems.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

          Countries and Companies with Relevant Technology<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

          Several organizations have developed FRP recycling technologies:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \n
          • Gen 2 Carbon \u2013 advanced composite recycling.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • Veolia \u2013 industrial recycling of composite waste.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • Fraunhofer Institute \u2013 research on FRP recycling and reuse.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • National Composites Centre \u2013 composite recycling technologies.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • Strongwell \u2013 structural composite beams and profiles.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • Creative Pultrusions \u2013 load-bearing FRP beams and bridge components.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

            Opportunity for Sri Lanka<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

            Sri Lanka has hundreds of aging FRP fishing vessels that will reach end-of-life over the next 10\u201320 years. Instead of dumping or burning them, a national Boat Recycling Programme\u201d could produce:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              \n
            • Composite roofing members<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • Modular housing panels<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • Utility poles<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • Walkway and jetty decking<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • Marine fenders<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • Non-corrosive beams for coastal housing<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

              This would fit well within a national Blue Economy and Circular Economy strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              A More Advanced Option<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

              Rather than grinding the boats into powder, it may be more economical to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                \n
              1. Cut hull sections.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              2. Recover large fiberglass laminates.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              3. Reprocess them into structural sandwich panels.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

                This approach retains much of the original fiber strength and is being studied in Europe and Japan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                For Sri Lanka, a pilot project involving the National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency, Industrial Technology Institute, and the University of Moratuwa could assess whether scrapped FRP fishing boats can be converted into affordable housing components for coastal communities. The concept is technically feasible, but engineering certification and testing would be essential before using recycled FRP beams as primary structural members in houses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                Regards

                Dr Sarath Obeysekera<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                Dr Sarath Obeysekera  Million-Dollar Opportunity Floating in Our Harbours How FRP Boat Waste Can Be Recycled Old fishing boats and pleasure craft are mainly made from fiberglass reinforced polyester or vinyl ester resin. The scrap can be: Alternatively: The Challenge for Load-Bearing Beams Structural beams require: Recycled FRP powder alone is usually not strong enough […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[116],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-156631","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dr-sarath-obeysekera"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156631","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=156631"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156631\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":156632,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156631\/revisions\/156632"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=156631"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=156631"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=156631"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}