Filae
Filae is a company that reuses fishing nets to design green roofs and walls, as well as shade screens (with or without vegetation). For green roofs and walls, the nets serve as a support for climbing plants to grow on.
The company uses tuna seines and trawl nets, chosen for their high resistance. These nets are mainly recovered from the ports of Marseille and Sète.
Green roof or wall projects are generally initiated by property developers who want to improve the aesthetics of their buildings while adopting an eco-responsible approach.
Once the nets have been collected, Filae asks net menders to repair them and adapt them for their future use. The peripheral ropes are then added by a company specialising in the manufacture of safety nets.
For installation, Filae works with cordists to attach the nets and landscapers to plant and maintain the vegetation.
The vegetation supports have a lifespan of 10 to 20 years.
Type of waste : Tuna seines and trawl nets
Waste quantity : 500 kg of nets installed
Infos
Location(s): Operates throughout France
Duration: Since 2025
Contact : contact@filae.eu
Web : https://www.filae.eu/
Results
To date, Filae has recovered nearly 30 tonnes of fishing nets, which it plans to recycle in various reuse projects, such as green facades and roofs, as well as in new projects currently under development.
Through these initiatives, the company also aims to support the fishing industry, particularly the net menders working in ports, by working in collaboration with them.
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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Gravity Wave
Gravity Wave is a social start-up based in Spain. committed to combating marine pollution through a circular economy model.
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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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Repêchons les Océans
Founded in Spain in 2015, the international network Upcycling the Oceans transforms marine waste into resources through innovation and the circular economy.
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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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SAO Textile
SAO is a French mission-driven company founded in February 2023. It is dedicated to recycling used fishing nets into eco-friendly textiles.
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Upcycling the Oceans
Founded in Spain in 2015, the international network Upcycling the Oceans transforms marine waste into resources through innovation and the circular economy.
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