An initiative to transforms discarded fishing nets into usable plastic materials has been opened on Cape Town’s V&A Waterfront.
The new facility at Collier Jetty was opened by Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Dr Dion George. The containerised micro-recycling pod represents a collaborative effort between OCEAN Action Network, Ocean Plastic Technologies, and the South African Deep-Sea Trawling Industry Association, with the V&A Waterfront donating the site. The Marine Stewardship Council’s Ocean Stewardship Fund provided seed funding for the initiative.
The self-contained recycling unit housed in a converted shipping container, can process up to 100kg of nets per hour. Through shredding, washing, drying and densification, the facility transforms discarded fishing gear into clean plastic flakes that can be reused in manufacturing. This prevents tonnes of material from reaching landfills or polluting the oceans.
Minister George drew attention to how abandoned, lost or discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) poses a severe threat to marine ecosystems.
‘This project is a practical expression of a just transition,’ Dion George said, highlighting how circular economy thinking can create opportunity while reducing inequality. He stresssed that the initiative supports national commitments under the National Environmental Management Act and advances Sustainable Development Goal 14: Life Below Water, describing the this initiative as ‘a beacon of what is possible when collaboration, innovation, and commitment align.’
‘This facility is a living example of thinking globally but acting locally, the minister stated. ‘It translates high-level treaty goals into everyday impact: cleaner oceans, better jobs and stronger communities.’
Less than a decade ago, South Africa had little understanding of what happened to fishing gear at the end of its life cycle. A 2020 assessment under the Commonwealth Marine Litter Project revealed that appropriate collection facilities for unwanted fishing gear did not exist in many ports and waste management costs risked incentivising deliberate dumping at sea.
The new facility provides the infrastructure needed to prevent fishing gear from becoming waste, offering an environmentally sound and economically practical solution.
The launch comes as South Africa leads international efforts to combat plastic pollution. Under its G20 Presidency, South Africa has placed marine plastic pollution firmly on the global agenda, developing a technical paper on ALDFG impacts that identifies retrieval and recycling combined with proper port waste reception facilities as the most effective prevention strategy.
