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.
Founded in Spain in 2015, the international network Upcycling the Oceans transforms marine waste into resources through innovation and the circular economy. Now operating in Spain, France, Greece, Italy and Egypt, the programme brings together more than 4,300 volunteer fishermen who have removed more than 2,000 tonnes of waste from the seabed.
Upcycling the Oceans is a marine waste recovery programme with multiple objectives: to protect marine biodiversity, collect data to support scientific prevention initiatives, raise public awareness of marine pollution issues and promote a circular economy model based on waste recovery.
In Spain, the programme is run by the Ecoalf Foundation in partnership with Ecoembes. It is currently present in 47 ports in Catalonia, the Valencian Community, Murcia and Galicia.
The initiative is based on the collection of marine waste by fishermen, mainly trawlers, who recover waste that has accidentally become entangled in their fishing gear. The fishermen then bring the waste back to port and deposit it in containers dedicated to the programme. These containers are then collected by waste management partners and transported to their sites, where the waste is characterised in order to understand its nature. Enfin, un tri des déchets est effectué, afin d’offrir une seconde vie aux matériaux recyclables (plastiques, métaux, verre, bois).
The containers and collection are funded by the Ecoalf Foundation and Ecoembes. There are no costs to the port.
Type of waste : Waste recovered from fishing gear.
Quantity of waste : 1348 tonnes since 2015.
Infos
Location(s): 47 ports in Andalusia, Catalonia, Galicia, Murcia and the Valencian Community
Duration: Since 2015
Partner(s): ECOEMBES
Funding: Ecoalf Foundation and Ecoembes
Contact : aruzo@fundacionecoalf.org
Results
Since 2015, the Upcycling the Oceans Spain programme has collected 1,348 tonnes of waste by involving 47 ports, 1,000 boats and 2,600 fishermen. The plastic waste collected has been recycled and transformed into PET yarn, which is used by the sustainable fashion brand Ecoalf.
Since 2018, scientific characterisations based on the OSPAR methodology have been carried out in ports and shared on the MARNOBA platform. These analyses make it possible to identify the types of waste, map their concentration and better understand their origin.
The initiative also benefits from positive and significant communication, helping to raise public awareness and highlight circular solutions for marine waste.
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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