Nearly 80 tons of garbage ‘fished’ from Valencia’s coastline last year

Almost 80,000 kg (176,370 lb) of garbage were gathered from the sea in the Valencian region in 2022, according to a recent report from environmental NGO Ecoembes. 

The waste was recovered by 891 volunteer local fishermen as part of Ecoembe’s national programme ‘Upcycling the Oceans’. 

Industrial packaging, food and cosmetic containers, and shopping bags are some examples of marine debris recovered. 

A total of 189,844 kg (418,534 lb) of sea waste were brought ashore in Spain last year as part of the initiative. 

This was possible thanks to the collaboration of 2,600 fishermen that worked across 600 boats in Andalucia, Galicia, Comunidad Valenciana, Murcia and Cataluña. 

‘Upcycling the Ocean’ intends to get more fishing vessels involved so larger amounts of waste can be first recovered from the sea and then recycled.