The World’s First Zero-Waste Surfboard Factory Just Opened

Foam dust. Where does it go? 

For all of the thousands and thousands of surfboards that are cut in a CNC shaping machine every year tons of foam dust goes into the atmosphere, landfills, shapers’ nostrils, et al. 

But board builder Ryan Harris and Earth Technologies are about solutions, and they’ve just launched the first zero-waste, eco-friendly surfboard and paddleboard cutting service. Based in Torrence, California, everything from the foam dust to the off-cuts are captured and recycled.

Developing programs for both EPS and polyurethane blanks, as they explain it:

“In a traditional CNC surfboard cutting business, the foam off-cuts and foam dust typically end up in a landfill. Earth Technologies will continue its commitment to Zero Landfill Manufacturing through its zero-waste system and a partnership with Sustainable Surf and Marko Foam to recycle and re-purpose all foam scrap and off-cuts through their Waste to Waves program.”

Dedicated to crafting the most sustainable surfboards possible, Earth Technologies was launched in 2010. Harris not only heads up the company but is also a shaper that largely services L.A’s South Bay scene. He was also one of the guys that sprung into action last year when the Malibu fires were raging. 

“The foam dust will go through a densification process, so it will densify it with all of the other off-cuts and it will all be 100 percent recycled,” Harris says. “It’s awesome.”

Because there’s no easy way to say for sure that this is the “world’s first” surfboard cutting factory,” Ryan confirmed that, as far as he knew, Earth Technologies’ facility was one of a kind. 

It only took 50 years of making surfboards out of foam for somebody to figure out what to do with the dust. For those board makers in Southern California looking for a little CNC production love, hit up Ryan and the crew. They’ve got their eco-operation dialed.