MDL Marinas continued commitment to the environment is demonstrated at the Southampton International Boat Show and beyond

Ben Fogle and Dr Joanne Preston (far right) of Portsmouth University with Volunteers of the Solent Oyster Restoration Project at Port Hamble Marina today (Thursday) 20th April 2017. Credit MDL.

MDL Marinas’ continued commitment to the environment is demonstrated at the Southampton International Boat Show (SIBS) through its charitable support and on stand recycling initiatives as well as through its long-term investment in its marinas.

MDL is the primary supporter of the Blue Marine Foundation in its innovative conservation project to replenish the Solent’s oyster population. This support continues at SIBS this year with fundraising efforts for this worthwhile cause being two-fold on MDL’s waterfront stand. MDL is running a raffle, giving members the chance to win a Musto BR1 jacket and trouser wet weather combo, worth over £300. In addition, MDL invites its members to join the team for ‘Charity Hour’ in the lounge when all drinks are just £1. Proceeds from both events will go to the Blue Marine Foundation and also MDL’s other chosen charity, Ocean Youth Trust South, topping up monies already raised this year through other charitable and sponsored events.

This year at SIBS, MDL’s on stand initiatives are a reflection of the group’s overall ethos to reduce waste and recycle. Working with its waste management company, Suez, MDL has gone to great lengths to recycle everything it can to reduce its environmental impact of attending the show and to minimise its contribution to landfill waste. From glass bottles to dry mixed recycling, there are separate on stand bins and boxes for the different waste materials, including a TerraCycle snack recycling box, specifically for sweet and chocolate bar wrappers. Head of Marketing at MDL, Maxine Lane says: “Our aim is to leave the show with just one black bin bag of landfill waste, which is quite a tall order considering our stand is very much a hospitality lounge for our members, giving them a place to relax while enjoying the show. However, we are determined to reduce our waste at the show this year and have taken the necessary steps to ensure that this happens.”

The recycling and charitable initiatives taken at this year’s boat show are just a small part of MDL’s commitment to the marine environment and wider boating community. There are many positive actions and investments being made across the 20 locations in the group on an on-going basis.

Ocean Village Marina has recently been awarded a SeaBin as part of the Secrets of the Solent National Lottery Heritage Fund project, following a successful application by marina manager, Scott Farquharson. The SeaBin itself has been generously funded by DP World Southampton, owner and operator of the city’s container terminal, as part of their own global commitment to protecting our oceans. The proposal confirmed the marina is able to meet the man power and infrastructural requirements to maximise the waste gathering potential of the SeaBin, as well as demonstrating MDL’s continued commitment to conserving the marine environment. “We are delighted to have been awarded this innovative in water, waste removal system. The team here is keen to support any initiative that benefits the marine environment, improves water quality in marinas and ultimately the experience of our customers’ and other water users,” comments Scott.

The SeaBin, supplied by UK distributor Inland and Coastal Marina Systems, will be installed later this autumn.

All the electricity that MDL purchases is ‘green’ energy from 100% renewable energy sources. In addition to this, MDL is investing £500K in solar panels across four of its south coast marinas. 100 Solar Edge solar panels have already been installed in its Hamble Point Marina with additional ones scheduled for later this year.

In 2020, Cobb’s Quay, Shamrock Quay and Saxon Wharf marinas will also have solar panels installed bringing the total power output to 470kw across the four marinas. These modern solar panels convert the suns energy more efficiently into current and the electricity produced will be used onsite.

Recently, state of the art filtration systems have been installed at MDL’s Queen Anne’s Battery and Mercury Yacht Harbour marinas to filter and clean waste water from boatyard activities which represents a substantial investment per marina. The multistage FiltaBund filtration system removes solids (e.g. paint particulates), organic matter (including non-native species), fine sediments and hydrocarbons. Most importantly for marinas, this bespoke system designed to MDL’s specification removes dissolved copper and zinc from antifoul paints that may have been stripped off in the hull washing process.

Once water has passed through the filtration system, the cleaned water meets statutory requirements for discharge back into the river or sea, thus helping to improve local water quality. MDL plan to install filtration systems at a number of its locations over the next few years.

For more information on any of MDL’s environmental initiatives please email enquiries@mdlmarinas.co.uk or visit www.mdlmarinas.co.uk/environment.

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