On 13 August, the Dutch fishing community of Texel, the municipality of Texel, and Healthy Seas signed a cooperation agreement in Oudenschild, on the island of Texel in the Netherlands. This agreement marks the start of cooperation to bring the old fishing nets from Texel into the Healthy Seas recycling process and so to ensure that as few nets as possible end up in incineration or worse, in the sea.

Texel is the largest Dutch island in the Wadden Sea and accommodates a fishing fleet known for its innovative character. A Healthy Seas depot has been opened on Texel and it is expected that about 10 tons of waste fishing nets per year will be collected. Until now, the nets were taken to the waste processing facility for incineration. Under this new cooperation agreement, the old nets have once more become a raw material, reducing the need to call on non-renewable resources, such as oil. Recycling therefore provides benefits for the environment, including a reduction in CO2, which contributes to climate change. Local awareness-raising activities about fisheries and sustainability are also planned.

When the Texel fishnet depot is full, the nets will be collected by Healthy Seas partner Nofir and recycled at Aquafil’s high-tech factory in Slovenia to make ECONYL® yarn.