Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Plastics News
  • Plastics News China
  • European Rubber Journal
SustainablePlasticsFINAL
Subscribe
  • Login
  • Register
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • News
    • Recycling
    • Sustainability
    • Bioplastics
    • Technology & Materials
    • Alpla Group invests €5m in food-grade rPET system in Italy
      Armed with ISCC Plus certification, CP Chem secures supply agreement with Nexus
      Ecodek uses single-use coffee cups in composite board production
      If it’s up to MacRebur, the US may soon be travelling on plastic roads
    • Opinion: The future of sustainable plastic
      Vinyl organisations in US, Australia sign MOU to explore sustainability programme reciprocity
      IneosStyrolution-Antwerp-main_i.jpg
      EU provides funding for sustainable ABS project
      Huhtamaki welcomes LCA results on environmental impact of single-use packaging
    • Lorenz develops lightweight bio-based thermoset based on regional raw materials
      Covestro adds its bio-TPUs to Desmopan product range
      Yield10 Bioscience announces milestone achievement with plant-made PHA
      Novamont advances vertical integration growth strategy with acquisition BioBag
    • Injection Moulding
    • Blow Moulding
    • Extrusion
    • Thermoforming
    • 3D printing
    • Technology
    • Materials
    • Machinery
  • Opinion
    • View Point
    • Opinion: The future of sustainable plastic
      A year to remember
      Opinion: California introduces world’s toughest plastic bottle recycling legislature – will other markets follow?
      Opinion: What to expect from plastic that protects our kids
  • 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
    • Magazine
    • Newsletters
    • List Rental
  • Digital magazine
    • Digital Magazine
  • Multimedia
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
October 01, 2019 09:36 AM

K Special: Bureo fishing nets out of the oceans

  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print
    VDMA

    David Stover

    In preparation for the world's leading plastics show in October – K 2019 – the German mechanical engineering association (VDMA) is running a series of interviews with plastics & rubber players to highlight the significance of sustainability within the industry.

    In an interview, David Stover, co-founder and COO of Bureo, manufacturer of recycled fishnet skateboards, said fishing nets are estimated to account for between 10-40% of ocean plastics and that his company wants “to do something about the garbage on the seas.”

    With more than 230 members from Germany, Austria, Switzerland and France, VDMA will be centring its focus on circular economy and closed loop concepts during K 2019, to be held in Düsseldorf, Germany, 16-23 Oct.

    Q: Bureo is a US company that turns old fishing nets into new products such as skateboards. How did you come up with fishing nets as a start-up? 

    DS: If you look at the plastics problem as a whole, it is estimated that plastic fishing nets account for between 10% and 40% of marine pollution caused by old plastics. That's a significant proportion for just a few types of garbage. We at Bureo want to do something about the garbage on the seas and have therefore chosen the fishing nets. So far, there has hardly been any consideration of what to do with the nets that can no longer be used. We consider fishing nets to be one of the most harmful forms of plastic waste for the maritime environment. 

    Q: How does Bureo collect the end-of-life fishing nets? 

    DS: We operate in Chile with our company. There we started to set up large recycling buckets in the ports. A kind of garbage can, where the fishermen could get rid of their old nets. 

    This works in some places where it is well managed. But the situation varies from port to port and from fishing company to fishing company. Then we realised that instead of waiting passively for the garbage cans to fill, it was better to actively approach the fisheries. Today we are receiving information from the fisheries as to which nets are old and when they are to be phased out. 

    Q: Does Bureo pay for this? 

    DS: Yes, because the financial incentive means that fishermen do not regard the old nets as waste, but as a business opportunity. We pay the fishermen, collect the nets, recycle them and return them to production. 

    Q: Does your example set a precedent elsewhere? 

    DS: We are expanding in Chile and beyond. We are now talking to fisheries in the north and south of the country and neighbouring countries. We are also in the process of setting up a project in Peru and are also negotiating with the relevant authorities in Argentina and Ecuador. The volumes that we collect and process are growing all the time. But our radius remains rather local. If you look at the amount of old nets that we recycle each year, it becomes clear that we certainly do not yet have much influence on the big problem of plastic waste. But we are showing a way to change the way fishermen deal with nets. 

    Q: How can the problem be tackled globally? 

    DS: Because littering with old fishing nets is a global problem, we are in contact with groups that want to tackle the problem globally. For example, we are a founding member of GGGI, the Global Ghost Gear Initiative. In this working group, all parties involved in the issue are looking for possible solutions that can be applied everywhere. Another very important point for us is education. We show fishermen and fisheries that there are ways to avoid pollution. 

    Q: How is the USA dealing with plastic waste? 

    DS: My observation is that we are safely behind the EU there. In some places and regions, such as New York City or California, there are a number of great initiatives. In California there will soon be a law requiring manufacturers of plastics and plastic products to invest in recycling. 

    At the local level, there have been many bans on disposable products. So, there are a few good initiatives, but as a country, the US has a problem dealing with its own garbage in a sensible way. For a very long time, we have relied on the fact that we can simply export our plastic waste. Recycling is currently still very inefficient in the USA. Even of the waste that is collected, only part goes for recycling because the other part cannot be recycled at all. The infrastructure and certainly also the technical possibilities are inadequate. Basically, we will have to change the way we use, process and recycle material, and we will have to change it globally. 

    Q: Do you need political guidelines to get recycling rolling, as in the EU? 

    DS: That would certainly be good, but in the current political situation in the US this is very unlikely. We are convinced that consumers can put pressure on companies to design their products better and produce more sustainable products. But that only works up to a certain point. 

    Consumers don't want to give up their convenience, they want everything at the lowest possible price and the companies that produce such products don't want to get away from plastic because it's cheap for them. What is really needed, therefore, is regulation by politicians, including at local level. Companies must be influenced and punished if they do not comply with the regulations. The multinationals in particular have so far often shirked their responsibilities. 

    Q: But many of these companies have set themselves ambitious sustainability targets. 

    DS: It's true that pressure is exerted on these companies from outside. After all, no one can hide the images of the littered seas and hide our waste crisis. These companies have now started initiatives and are setting themselves goals for the next few years. 

    That's a good start, but you have to keep the pressure on. On closer inspection, the initiatives and plans of these companies are quite small compared to their size. Some are ambitious, but for many it doesn't matter much. I think we need to increase speed and scope significantly. The plastics industry produces more plastic every year.

    If we actually used as much recycled material as everyone promises, we would see a decline in the production of new plastic. 

    Get our newsletters

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

    Reserve your subscription today

    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 
    Tel: +44 (0)1622 370570

    Customer Service:
    1-313-446-0450

    [email protected]

     

    Resources
    • Advertise
    • Sitemap
    • Careers
    • Subscribe
    Affiliates
    • Plastics News
    • Plastics News China
    • LSR World
    • European Rubber Journal
    • 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
      • Magazine
      • Newsletters
      • List Rental
    • Digital magazine
      • Digital Magazine
    • Multimedia