Especially we as surfers should take care to preserve our environment as much as possible and to keep our oceans clean. As for our sport, we’re pretty bound up with the ocean and often learn the consequences of the environmental pollution the hard way: dirty beaches, rubbish floating on the surface of the water, harmful bacteria in the water and much more.

And we surfers as well contribute our part to the pollution of the environment: indeed during surfing, we just use our pure muscular strength to move forward instead of using machines, nevertheless for the production of surfboards, wetsuits, etc. many pollutants are produced. Every year, about 6 million bars of surf wax are being consumed and around 6000 tons of sunscreen are ending up in the ocean. Furthermore, there is the air pollution due to flights and car rides to the surf spots.

But we want to show you some ways how to preserve the environment as a surfer:

1. Buy Second Hand
Especially as a beginner it’s not a bad thing to start with a second hand surfboard and wetsuit. Therefore, less boards and wetsuits have to be produced and it saves the environment as well as your wallet.

2. Repair instead of buying a new one
Your board has a ding or your wetsuit has a hole? Don’t throw it away straight away in order to buy something new but rather try first to repair your board or wetsuit by yourself (or a person who is able to do professional repairs like a surfboard shaper for example).

3. Take care about the ingredients
When buying a new surfboard, wetsuit or some other kind of surf equipment, just take care about the ingredients. A surfboard made of epoxy resin for example is more environmentally friendly than one made of polyester – as well as wetsuits without PVC are better for the environment than wetsuits with PVC. In the meantime there is also surfboard wax based on organic components and without mineral oil and sunscreen with no or at least less environmentally harmful substances available on the market. The disadvantage: the costs for those products are a bit higher.

4. Go to the surf spot by foot or by bike
Especially when you’re living or making holiday close to a surf spot, just leave your car in the garage and go to the surf sport by foot or by taking a ride on your bike. Like this, you’ll save money, help the environment and have a small warm-up before surfing on top 😉

5. Carpools
You want to go on a surftrip or to a surf spot that is a bit further away by car? Why don’t you just take some friends and make a carpool? And also here the rule applies: saves money, preserves the environment and furthermore you’ll have a lot more fun in the car with your friends than alone 🙂

6. Beach Clean-Up
Normally it should be the most natural thing in the world to take home your rubbish from the beach or at least to throw the rubbish into the next garbage can. Many times you also can find somebody else’s rubbish and nobody feels responsible for it. So just take the initiative and throw the rubbish away. Often there are also organized beach clean-ups to clean the beaches together.

We from Atlantik Surf try as well in our Surf Camp in Spain and our Surf School in Tenerife to work as environmentally friendly as possible.