Circular port-based solutions

Sustainable management of fishing gear at the end of its life is compulsory in the EU. However, issues relating to sorting, logistics, and traceability mean that a lot of fishing gear still ends up in landfill or incinerators. SEARCULAR will trial a port-based approach that can facilitate collection, sorting and conditioning of end-of-life fishing gear via a Plastic2Plastic strategy.

The problem

Under European policy directives and in order to improve the sustainability of fisheries, ports are seeking to improve the management of end-of-life fishing gears. The available facilities, and capacity for processing is often a limiting factor in the ability of ports to process and successfully recycle old and discarded gears. Challenges remain around sorting, logistics, traceability and governance, and, as a result, thousands of tonnes of fishing gear still ends up in landfill or incinerators.

The solution

To address this and generate opportunities in this space, this Solution will trial replicable port-based solutions for end-of-life fishing gear. This will be implemented via the design, development and testing of Blue Points – which collect, sort and condition the gears as part of a Plastic2Plastic strategy. These Blue Points will be designed around a ‘point and reverse’ logistics model which helps optimise and simplify collection process, and guide waste managers on the best local practice for the handling and treatment of fishing gear waste. This will ensure the efficient handling of waste to break it down and recycle it into new plastics, facilitating a circular economy for fishing gear.