It’s one thing to clean a beach – but what about doing something constructive with all the stuff you pick up? Torbay Cleaner Coast Initiative is leading a new initiative to turn old fishing line into useful new products.
Living Coasts, Torquay’s coastal zoo, is among places locally where people can recycle waste nylon fishing line. And one South West company can turn that material into kayaks that can be used to collect more marine plastic.
Living Coasts Curator Clare Rugg: “This is the circular economy, it’s environmental action feeding into manufacturing which in turn supports environmental action.” Throughout the summer, one of the kayaks designed by Odyssey Innovation Ltd will be on display in the entrance to Living Coasts.
The Anglers National Line Recycling Scheme (ANLRS), Torbay Cleaner Coast Initiative (TCCI) and Cornish company Odyssey Innovation are setting an example by collecting, recycling and reusing the redundant recreational fishing line.
Clare: “There are lots of initiatives to clean beaches and recover lost fishing nets and angling lines – but there was no formal way of disposing of the material other than landfill.” The ANLRS has established over 200 recycling points for fishing line. Now, this material is being processed into new plastic and used to make new items, including wetsuits, traffic cones and frames for sunglasses. Odyssey Innovations Ltd uses it to make kayaks, which can be used to clean inaccessible parts of the coastline.
Viv Shears, from ANLRS, said: “We are delighted to be working with the TCCI, Odyssey Innovations and Living Coasts on this. Removing plastics in any form from our coastal waters and beaches is vital. Anglers enjoy our coasts along with millions of others and we all have a role to play in removing waste plastics that our activities create whether that be as a tourist or an angler.”
Jan Pritchard, of Torbay Cleaner Coasts Initiative, commented: “We are proud of this new partnership – it’s being met with great enthusiasm.” At one popular fishing site, Hopes Nose in Torbay, TCCI recovered several tons of lost monofilament fishing line and associated tackle.
Living Coasts, at Beacon Quay in Torquay, is one of a number of places to have recycling bins for old fishing line. Among the first to sign up locally were Preston Hardware Bait & Tackle, Brixham Bait & Tackle, the Spear Fishing Store in Preston, Hookzonline, Cantina at Goodrington and the Boat House. To find a recycling location go to www.anglers-nlrs.co.uk
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