Blue Circular Nets
CIRCNETS
Project information
Project duration
-
Funded by
European Structural and Investment Funds - INTERREG
Project funder
Funding amount
238 784 EUR
Project coordinator
University of Oulu
Unit and faculty
Contact information
Project leader
- Postdoctoral researcher
Contact person
Project description
Long distances and lack of critical mass are key challenges for organising waste management in many parts of the northern, peripheral and sparsely populated areas of Europe. This is highlighted even more in the case of end-of-life (EOL) fishing gear, which due to the changes in legislation, has to be collected separately.
Blue Circular Nets (CIRCNETS) is a Northern Periphery and Arctic (NPA) 2021 - 2027 programme funded project, which will support the setting up of a collection system for EOL fishing gear in the NPA region. Finding out how collection can be organised regionally in a most efficient and economical way, which also adheres to the "do no significant harm" principle, requires solutions to be looked at from other regions, which have already taken steps towards this. The collection of fishing gear also opens a possibility to proceed towards a more circular economy and find out ways how the collected materials can be recycled regionally.
CIRCNETS will create solutions for both of these issues by drafting a blueprint for the collection, treatment and recycling of EOL fishing gear in the NPA region. The project partnership includes organisations from Finland, Sweden, Norway, Ireland, and Iceland.
Project actions
The actions of the project have been divided between three work packages (WP). The deliverables of the work packages pave the way towards the overall aim of the project. The work packages are the following ones:
- Analysis of fishing gear volumes and collection responsibilities and practices in NPA ports
- WP1 maps out the overall fishing gear volumes that are in use in NPA countries, collected EOL fishing gear volumes and the EOL fishing gear collection responsibilities and practices in NPA ports
- NPA marine plastic mitigation model (collection, treatment, reuse)
- WP2 develops a model to sustainably use EOL fishing gear, which includes analysis of the current disposal systems, end of waste criteria, economic potential and emerging technologies for EOL fishing gear utilisation
- Implementation of EPR for EOL fishing gear in NPA countries
- WP3 maps out how extended producer responsibility (EPR) can be implemented in the fishing gear sector, taking into account the implementation of EPR in other sectors and the legislative changes, such as changes in the EPR, single use plastics (SUP) and port reception directives
Increasing knowledge about marine plastic pollution has a high priority in the project. The spokesperson of the project, Gus the Gull, advocates these issues to the general public in various ways, such as through newsletters. Another aspect is informing the fishing sector in particular about the legislative changes, which will affect EOL fishing gear. The project also promotes best practices for the recycling of the collected materials and how these can be given a second life. Dissemination activities, workshops, and webinars are organised about these themes in the course of the project.
Project results
The overall aim of the project is to draft recommendations for setting up collection and treatment system for EOL fishing gear in the NPA region. The local circumstances and legislative requirements will be taken into account in drafting of this blueprint . Another aspect which emerges from this activity is the recycling of EOL fishing gear as a raw material. CIRCNETS will review the currently used methods and technologies from the participating regions, and these best practices will be shared to support circular economy activities in the whole NPA region.
