IMO, recycling starts at home, and regardless of the "greenness" of it all, it has always been a good way to get a bonus use out of non-consumable by-products.
As Geordie suggests, there are lots of opportunities to re-use Hobie packing material. In addition to using the Hobie plastic wrap (older style) as a tarp or drop cloth, Hobie bubble wrap is excellent for packing/shipping. I use it as bedding for shorter kayaks when transporting in the pick-up bed and have had others ask where they can get some for the same purpose. The smaller plastic makes an excellent cushion for sawhorses and hanging brackets for kayak storage.
Even old hull scraps are good for little projects like plastic welding or custom parts like this:
Beyond that, it's SOP around here to drink tap water instead of bottled water, re-use plastic shopping bags as trash bags, plastic containers as small parts/ hardware compartments in the garage, re-usable rags instead of paper towels, warm-up water for flushing toilets, garbage for the compost pile rather than in the sewer system, etc. There must be 100 household uses for good clean cardboard and boxes.
One could argue that much of it ends up as trash eventually anyway, so what's the difference? If nothing else, it's less wasteful, more economical, and in So Cal, makes valuable existing land fills last a bit longer (saves taxpayer $). If it also helps save the world, so much the better.
PS It is my understanding that Hobie has a recycler pick up their scrap Polyethylene for use in other products. All the Hobie boats are made with new PE, as their material specs have to be very specific due to the high stress in the drivewell.
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