Despite the fact that surfers have a reputation for being eco-friendly, the reality is that the hobby is actually quite toxic to the environment in many ways. In fact, the surfboards used by those who enjoy the sport are made entirely from toxic materials such as polyurethane foam. Furthermore, the process of manufacturing surfboards is quite wasteful in nature and utilizes toxic manufacturing processes to get the job done. It is for these reasons that some companies within this $7.2 billion industry are looking for ways to clean up their act.

One of the leader in the green surf movement is Green Foam Blanks, which is a start up company in San Clemente that is manufacturing the world’s first recycled polyurethane blanks used for the core of surfboards. The founders of the company, Joey Santley and Steve Cox, collect the polyurethane cuttings being discarded by surfboard factories and then use a proprietary process to create blanks that are made with 60 to 65% recycled materials.

“Every day in Southern California, about 800 boards are being shaped and as much as 40 percent of each blank, which contains toxic materials, ends up being put into landfills,” said Santley in a New York Times article.

Considering the fact that approximately 316,000 surfboards were sold last year in the United States alone, finding ways to produce the boards with less waste can have a significant impact on the environment. Already, surfers are taking notice of Green Foam and its eco-friendly processes. In fact, the company has sold about 1,000 of its blanks since starting the company earlier this year. This is partially due to the fact that the company has managed to catch the attention of surfing celebrities such as Cameron Diaz as well as a few professional surfers and influential manufacturers within the industry.

“I really love that you can take old surfboards, grind them up and make more surfboards instead of sticking them in landfills,” said Donavon Frankenreiter, who is a pro surfer turned musician who is also the owner of Green Foam surfboards, in the New York Times article. “They ride great and look cool. I ask them to keep them rough so you can see pieces of old board, fiberglass and string.”

Of course, no surfer is going to give up performance in order to have a board that is green. That is one place where Green Foams is better than other eco-friendly options that have been explored. Still, the foams do have a higher rate of defectiveness than the foams that have not been recycled. In addition, Green Foams still needs to find a way to increase production of the foams in order to make it a more viable solution for going green in the industry.