CIV Den Oever in the Netherlands was the first fishing community to work with us back in 2013 when we started our journey from waste to wear. Recently, they collected and shipped another 15 tons of waste nets for recycling.
The fishing cooperative manufactures nets to the constantly changing EU standards that are there to protect fish stock and mitigate bycatch. On top of it, they now need to comply with the new EPR scheme which comes with its own set of challenges.
One of the issues that affects our work and our collaboration is the mix materials that the cooperative is obliged to use when manufacturing their nets. It’s not a single type of plastic that would make them easily recyclable but rather an array of materials. Their team is now also experimenting with using nylon 6 ropes instead of the very fine and dangerous to marine life dolly rope, to protect the nets.
The nets manufactured by CIV Den Oever are not only for catching fish. Their team also creates innovative designs for scientific projects that aim at cleaning up the seas and protecting animals, using nets.
