SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, Calif. (AP) -- A California surfer has won a recycled surfboard contest with an entry covered with 10,000 cigarette butts.
The Orange County Register says Taylor Lane had the top entry in the "Creators & Innovators Upcycle Contest" by beating out an assortment of boards made from potato sacks, used packaging and stuff picked up from Dumpster dives and an Australian entry made from an old bathroom door.
Lane and his friend, Ben Judkins, spent the summer plucking butts from the sand, beach parking lots and local paths in Santa Cruz.
The board also uses Styrofoam from fish markets. Judkins says "It's visually disgusting -- but awesome in how gross it is." He says "It just ties together surfing and something we care about -- the environment, the ocean and the health of the ocean."
