Fishing and aquaculture gear recycling company Nofir took delivery of 8212 tonnes of fishing and farming equipment in 2023.
‘Figures like these would have been virtually unthinkable just a few years ago,’ said Nofir’s CEO Øistein Aleksandersen.
‘It shows that the arrows are pointing in the right direction, and that the blue industries have heard our call to send more for recycling.’
According to official figures, fishing and farming are among the largest plastic-consuming industries in Norway, while Nofir’s throughput numbers show that every year, they get better at recycling.
‘To put the collection figures in perspective, it is almost 1000 tonnes more than the previous record year of 2017. It is almost unbelievable! But the most important difference is that we now recycle more material than ever before,’ he said, and added that according to Nofir’s analysis, blue recycling is far better for the climate than previously believed.
In 2023, a total of 6153 tonnes were sent for material recycling, which becomes new products. In comparison, 6,157 tonnes of gear were collected in the whole of 2022 – for all types of recycling.
‘Several farmers are aware that by choosing nylon, which is easier to recycle, this can become a completely circular process,’ Øistein Aleksandersen said, commenting that the company has a trial project together with several other players in the industry, to create the first circular farming installation.
He also highlighted that over the past year there has been increased collection and recycling from Iceland, collaboration with several players in other parts of the value chain and the company’s investment in recycled products from discarded gear.
‘There is a queue of players who want to get started with projects that take us closer to a circular farming industry. I don’t think it will be long until we have completely circular farming facilities in Norway,’ he said.
In 2023 Nofir took delivery of 6308 tonnes of material for recycling from Norway, 1094 tonnes from Iceland, 553 tonnes from the Faroes and 210 tonnes from Denmark, as well as 47 tonnes from the UK.
