\n A pioneering recycling scheme in Wales targeting end-of-life fishing gear has been recycled since 2023, diverting nets, ropes, and buoys from landfill and helping to protect coastal environments.\n<\/p>\n
\n The End of Life (EoL) Fishing Gear Scheme, a partnership between the Welsh Government and Odyssey Innovation Ltd, provides collection points at harbours across Wales for the disposal and recycling of plastic fishing equipment.\n<\/p>\n
\n Huw Irranca-Davies, deputy first minister with responsibility for climate change and rural affairs, recently visited the Aberystwyth collection station to see the scheme in action.\n<\/p>\n
\n Mr Irranca-Davies said: “This remains the only truly nationwide scheme of its kind in the UK, bringing in an additional resource for a previously untapped source of material and supports our aim to become the best recycling nation in the world.”\n<\/p>\n
\n Fishing gear is estimated to make up 20 per cent of all marine litter.\n<\/p>\n
\n It was the third most commonly found item in last year\u2019s Great British Beach Clean survey for Wales, accounting for 14 per cent of all beach litter.\n<\/p>\n
\n The scheme has now expanded to 10 harbours, with strong engagement particularly from smaller ports along the Cardigan Bay coastline.\n<\/p>\n
\n Rob Thompson of Odyssey Innovation said: “This recycling initiative stands as a prime example of how collaborative efforts between various entities can effectively foster a circular economy.\n<\/p>\n
\n “The enthusiastic participation of fishermen in recycling their gear has been absolutely essential to the scheme’s success.”\n<\/p>\n
\n Materials collected are graded and recycled into a range of products, including council street furniture, road materials, and even kayaks.\n<\/p>\n
\n Nets and ropes are processed in Denmark and turned into items such as the \u2018Scuttle the Cuttle\u2019 microplastic-catching scoop, designed for use by young people and community groups.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A pioneering recycling scheme in Wales targeting end-of-life fishing gear has been recycled since 2023, diverting nets, ropes,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":241223,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5010],"tags":[748,4884,16,15,1764],"class_list":{"0":"post-241222","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wales","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-great-britain","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-wales"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114803095811313024","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241222","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=241222"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241222\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/241223"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=241222"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=241222"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=241222"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}