New Industry Insight about plastic

Due to its characteristics in water, plastic is a valuable material in aquaculture. However, the usage is mostly linear. As a result, if we don't alter our habits, the industry will require more and more new plastic.?

Our new report "Industry Insight: The future of plastics in the Norwegian aquaculture, address this issue.

We hope it will contribute to focus, debate and action around how the life cycle of plastics in aquaculture can become more circular. Join the digital launch 10 AM on Friday!??

Recycling itself is not enough

– Plastic is important for the aquaculture industry. It's not the wrong material, but we need to find other routines for production, waste, and recycling, Dominik Flatten, Project Manager for sustainability and the new industry insight report says.?

According to the new report, the major challenge is to transform today's linear plastic consumption into more circular material flows. And recycling itself is not enough.?

– We see that there are several good projects, but plastic is still recycled into lower value and quality. The goal must be that a flotation ring can become a new flotation ring, not a plastic tray at McDonald's, Flatten says.

Hear what industry experts from Oceanize, Sintef, ScaleAQ, Ler?y and Norwegian Retailers' Environment Fund have to say about the report.?

Plastic equivalent to three Eiffel Towers

According to the report, about 190,000 tons of plastic are in use at any time in aquaculture, and up to 28,500 tons of this is replaced every year*.

In comparison the Eiffel tower weighs 10,100 tonnes[1]. So, a volume equivalent to just under three Eiffel Towers are sent to burning, landfill, or recycling.

Today, the distribution is such that approximately one of these three "plastic Eiffel Towers" is sent to recycling.

However, the volume itself isn’t necessary a problem; rather the fact that the plastic’s life cycle is mostly linear. Similar to the plastic straws, this is not globe-friendly in the long run.

Six barriers stand in the way

Our new Industry Insight report addresses this challenge, and points to six challenges we need to solve to transform our plastic system.

One of the issues is profitability and alternative cost. Plastic is all around us, largely because it's a cheap material. In addition, when plastic things are aged, it's often more economical to burn it or deposit plastic waste in landfills, than to recycle.?

Therefore, recycling companies compete against traders' and landfills' low tipping fees, which makes it even harder (read: more expensive) to do the right thing. Profit is a significant barrier, and it's hard to change without the circular value chain being profitable in all steps.?

Take a look at the 5 other barriers in this article.?

Do you know how to handle plastic?

More knowledge is key to solving challenges related to our footprint. Plastic is both practical and cheap. However, it also makes up a large portion of marine waste. With greater knowledge on how to manage this material, we can reduce the waste.?

Therefore, together with Grieg Seafood , Milj?stiftelsen Bellona , and Norges teknisk-naturvitenskapelige universitet (NTNU) , we have launched a free online course on plastic handling. The course is funded by the Norwegian Retailer's Environment Fund/ Handelens Milj?fond .

You can access the course here.

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