The surfer's paradox is that their boards can harm the oceans they cherish. A new process is helping to change that.

"Five years ago, Patricio Guerrero was surfing the rolling waves of Santa Cruz when the leash on his board broke, sending it flying into a nearby cave and shattering its nose. As Guerrero worked on repairs, he was shocked at how much plastic waste was building up beside him. When the board was fixed, he loaded the plastic into the blue recycling bin outside of his house, but the next morning the bin had not been emptied."

"The city recycling plant wouldn't accept the material because it was a non-recyclable kind of plastic. I started talking to my buddies and we realized this was an industry-wide problem. There's so much waste generated from building surfboards, said Guerrero, who is now CEO at Swellcycle, a Santa Cruz company that creates 3D printed surfboards from renewable materials. Guerrero has always been interested in building environmentally friendly products."

"In high school, he converted a 1972 Volkswagen Beetle into an electric vehicle. Later he gained a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and a master's in design and manufacturing. Guerrero 3D-printed his first prototype board less than a year after his surfboard broke, marking the beginning of what would become Swellcycle, which aims to turn the tides on surfing's harmful impact on the planet."

Patricio Guerrero's surfboard leash broke, sending the board into a cave and shattering its nose. He found large amounts of plastic waste on the beach and discovered the city recycling plant would not accept the material because it was a non-recyclable plastic. Surfboard construction typically starts with rigid polyurethane foam blocks that are carved away, generating substantial unrecyclable waste. Oil-based polyurethane manufacturing produces significant carbon emissions; a typical six-foot surfboard emits as much carbon as a person flying 1,005 miles. Guerrero 3D-printed a prototype less than a year later and co-founded Swellcycle to produce 3D-printed surfboards from renewable materials.

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