Cristina Hodgson
EVERY year, human activity causes tons of marine litter to accumulate in the oceans, threatening marine biodiversity, harming animal and planet health as well as presenting a significant threat to human well-being.
As plastic pollution rapidly escalates, Spanish fishermen are salvaging plastic waste straight from the ocean, and for a good reason—to repurpose plastic bottles, as well as fishing nets and other smaller particles into fabric.
It’s estimated that, if solutions aren’t given to plastic pollution, by 2050, there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish.
Aware of this situation, Upcycling the Oceans Spain was started in September 2015 as a pilot project by the ECOALF Foundation in which 9 fishing ports participated in order to recover marine litter, and guarantee the correct management of all the recovered waste.
Since then, the project has grown fourfold and is currently present in 45 Spanish ports.
In 2022 alone, thanks to the work of around 2,600 fishermen, a total of 189,844 kilos of waste was collected from the Spanish seabed.
The marine waste recovered is recycled and transformed into raw material which is then used to fabricate stylish fashion items and accessories.
In addition to the recovery of marine litter, Upcycling the Oceans aims to offer scientific information about this environmental concern, raise awareness and establish preventative measures.
READ MORE:
- Malaga port fitted with plastic filtering technology
- Ingestion of plastics possible cause of death of whale washed up in Spain’s Estepona, expert says
