Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Plastics News
  • Plastics News China
SustainablePlasticsFINAL
Subscribe
  • Login
  • Register
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • News
    • Recycling
    • Sustainability
    • Bioplastics
    • Technology & Materials
    • Wikipedia Foam Takeout-main_i.jpg
      Virginia lawmakers reach 'great polystyrene compromise,' pass EPS ban, chemical recycling law
      Vita Nova aims to ensure a new life for flexible packaging
      Tetra Pak introduces beverage cartons incorporating certifed recycled polymers
      Baerlocher: adding value with stabilisers to promote the circular economy
    • Wikipedia Foam Takeout-main_i.jpg
      Virginia lawmakers reach 'great polystyrene compromise,' pass EPS ban, chemical recycling law
      Natural household product supplier Aunt Fannie’s now certified plastic neutral
      Azek-Recycling-Bin-main_i.png
      Azek decking, Sika roofing boost recycled content
      Tomra plastic picture-main_i.jpg
      ‘Long, hard engagement' seen on global plastics treaty
    • PHA: As green as it gets
      Braskem to invest $61 million to expand green ethylene production capacity
      On a healthy footing from the start - new shoe brand launches recovery slip-on made from eco-foam
      Pants in any colour, as long as they’re green
    • Injection Moulding
    • Blow Moulding
    • Extrusion
    • Thermoforming
    • 3D printing
    • Technology
    • Materials
    • Machinery
  • Opinion
    • View Point
    • PHA: As green as it gets
      Opinion: The future of sustainable plastic
      A year to remember
      Opinion: California introduces world’s toughest plastic bottle recycling legislature – will other markets follow?
  • Events
    • Our Exhibitions
    • Plastics Industry Awards (PIA)
    • Ask the Expert
    • Sustainable Plastics Live
    • Reifenhäuser Technologies Livestreams
    • Plastics News Europe Live Archives
    • Plastics Recycling Show Europe
  • Prices & Resources
    • Polymer Prices
    • Data Reports
    • White Papers
  • Contact
    • Advertise
    • Media Pack
  • Subscribe
  • Digital magazine
    • Digital Magazine
  • Multimedia
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
August 09, 2017 07:00 AM

Fishing for ghosts in the Baltic Sea

Plastic News Europe
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print
    Toensmeier/Corporations
    Ghosts of the sea: Dredged up derelict fishing nets

    Almost a tenth of the world's marine waste consists of ghost nets. In the Baltic Sea alone, up to 10,000 abandoned parts of nets, torn from inshore fisheries or lost by fishing boats enter the water each year. Even after decades, they still present a danger to the marine environment, becoming “a silent trap for marine mammals, sea birds and fish” in the words of Jochen Lamp, manager of the WWF Baltic Sea office.

    Alarmed, WWF Germany launched its ghost net dragging operations in 2016 to address the problem, collaborating with local fishermen, the fisheries and cultural heritage authorities and government agencies to identify target areas. Specially trained fishing cutter crews working with local diving teams were deployed to retrieve the lost nets - an approach that has resulted in the successful collection of 5 tonnes of derelict fishing gear (wet weight), entangled with old anchor chains, aluminium and copper cables and other seabed waste, from the sea.

    "The material recovered from the seabed has partly been in the water for many years - it is very heterogeneous and extremely polluted," said Andrea Stolte, project manager at the WWF Baltic Sea Office.

    The retrieval operations are sponsored by the German recycling company Tönsmeier. While an important aim is to retain as much of the material as possible in the production cycle as secondary raw materials, it was first necessary to obtain information on the composition, the size and the degree of contamination of the recovered nets, explained Dr Michael Krüger, Head of the Research and Development of the Tönsmeier Group, who is overseeing the project for the Group.

    To that end tests were carried out this year starting in March at the technology centre of Vecoplan, a recycling equipment and systems producer in Bad Marienberg, Germany.

    Large-scale impurities - stones, metals or pieces of wood - had to be removed manually, after which the retrieved waste was sorted into different fractions - nets, control nets and ropes. These fractions were subsequently chopped, ground and passed through a metal separator to eliminate any remaining metals. It was then possible to start the actual separation tests, a number of which were carried out using the float / sink method.

    "This method works very reliably for the separation of substances with different densities, and it yielded the desired results in the series of experiments performed at this time, " said Krüger.

    The experiments verified that the extensive preparation and cleansing procedure carried out sufficed to allow further processing of the material. 

    After an addition shredding round, the material could undergo the usual separation processes, rendering it suitable for various recycling processes.

    "Which type of utilization is most suitable ecologically and economically remains to be determined in the second half of the year," Krüger said.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Sustainable Plastics' news delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe

    Subscriptions to Sustainable Plastics, the leading Pan-European magazine for the circular plastics industry are coming soon.

    Subscribe now
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter

    "In a changing world, Sustainable Plastics is a constant: a platform the plastics industry can rely on to deliver the news and knowhow impacting the industry going forward”

    SustainablePlasticsFINAL
    Contact Us

    11 Ironmonger Lane, EC2V 8EY
    United Kingdom 
     

    Customer Service:
    1-313-446-0450

    [email protected]

     

    Resources
    • Advertise
    • Sitemap
    • Careers
    • Subscribe
    Affiliates
    • Plastics News
    • Plastics News China
    • LSR World
    • Urethanes Technology
    • Tire Business
    • Rubber & Plastics News
    • Automotive News
    • Automotive News Europe
    • Crain Publications
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2021. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Recycling
      • Sustainability
      • Bioplastics
      • Technology & Materials
        • Injection Moulding
        • Blow Moulding
        • Extrusion
        • Thermoforming
        • 3D printing
        • Technology
        • Materials
        • Machinery
    • Opinion
      • View Point
    • Events
      • Our Exhibitions
        • Plastics Recycling Show Europe
      • Plastics Industry Awards (PIA)
      • Ask the Expert
      • Sustainable Plastics Live
      • Reifenhäuser Technologies Livestreams
      • Plastics News Europe Live Archives
    • Prices & Resources
      • Polymer Prices
      • Data Reports
      • White Papers
    • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Media Pack
    • Subscribe
    • Digital magazine
      • Digital Magazine
    • Multimedia