Marine Plastics: Innovative Solutions to Tackling Waste

This open access book reflects aims of the BCE project, which is to assist SMEs offering products and services within fishing gear recycling solutions in the NPA-region to attain greater market reach through stimulating the market demand for products made of recycled fishing gear. Cluster establishment and operation were carried out in collaboration with academia, industry and government agencies following a triple-helix approach. The book examines how to create environmentally and economically viable circular business models for SMEs in the fishing gear industry, with practical solutions in terms of recycling, marketing, etc. Discarded fishing gear constitutes a large part of marine plastics. Preventing future discharge of fishing gear into the ocean is a vital step in combating plastic pollution. Circular economy is one of the tools in the European Green deal, targeting waste minimisation. Closing the loop for waste fishing nets by transferring them to a resource could be a solution for preventing discharge at sea: exploring this opportunity is at the core of this book.