Gravity Wave
Gravity Wave is a social start-up based in Spain. committed to combating marine pollution through a circular economy model.
It collaborates closely with various companies to transform plastics recovered from the sea and ports into reusable materials applied across multiple industrial sectors.
Gravity Wave collaborates with over 7,000 small-scale fishermen in countries such as Spain, Greece, Italy, and Egypt, who collect plastic waste, primarily fishing nets, during their fishing activities. In Spain, this collaboration extends to more than 70 ports across regions including Galicia, Cantabria, Catalonia, the Valencian Community, the Balearic Islands, Andalucia, and Murcia.
Since its founding in 2019, the company has valorised approximately 70-75% of the collected plastic waste, transforming it into raw material for new products. These materials are recycled and converted into sustainable products, such as urban furniture and design elements, through processes carried out in Spain.
Type of waste : Waste Incidentially Fished (WIF) and plastics from ports
Quantity of waste : 929 tons since 2019 (> 200 tons of WIF)
Infos
Location(s): Mediterranean Sea (Spain)
Duration: 2019
Partner(s): Imagin planet (since 2021), ISDIN (since 2022)
Funding: various investors and entities since its founding
Results
Gravity Wave manufactures 100% recycled pellets made from recovered fishing nets and marine ropes, intended for sectors such as automotive, design, and decoration. Additionally, it is renowned for its Gravitec® line, which produces recycled plastic panels from recovered nets, offering sustainable and versatile solutions for architecture and design. These panels are durable, water-resistant, recyclable, and feature traceability through blockchain technology, ensuring transparency and sustainability. The line includes Gravitec® HDPE, ideal for applications requiring flexibility and impact resistance, and Gravitec® PP, produced from ropes recovered along the Spanish coasts at the end of their useful life.
Initiatives to discover
initiative(s)
FILIPECH
The FILIPECH project has taken two main actions: the establishment of the producer responsability organisation dedicated to the management of end-of-life fishing gear, and the carrying out of new experiments in four ports to test and improve the collection and recovery of used HDPE trawls
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IFF Plastics
IFF Plastics in Co. Clare, Ireland worked together with BIM to investigate if retired fishing nets from ports could be recycled into a material to create products such as fence posts.
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Oyster Bag Waste Management
Studies and trials have been carried out on managing waste aquaculture gear, determining the feasibility of disposal of end of life gear through recycling and other systems in comparison to other disposal strategies such as landfill.
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Repescaplas
The initiative aimed at mitigating the impact of marine litter, particularly plastic waste, through its recovery, characterisation, and valorisation into useful products.
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