SEATTLE —
Multiple Pacific Northwest groups are coming together to make sure discarded fishing gear is properly recycled.
Nicole Baker said she started Net Your Problem after working in the maritime industry and witnessing how many nets and plastic materials were not properly discarded. Her business helps fishermen dispose of old materials, then makes sure it gets recycled.
“Keeping it in storage is an option, burning is an option in some places and then taking it to a landfill," Baker said. "So those are the three most common ways that gear is getting disposed of presently and we’re introducing this recycling option for fishermen."
She is teaming up with trinamiX, a company that designed a handheld, near-infrared spectrometer. The tool can be held up to a material, then tells a person what kind of plastic is in that material. This ensures people properly dispose of the plastic.
"You will see some of these go overboard, make their way to high current areas and wash up kind of barrier islands and things like that," said trinamiX’s Brian Schmatz. "What we want to do is catch them at the source before they make their ways into waterways and make sure they get an end-of-life option.".
Shmatz said the company is working to make these devices accessible. Previously, the infrared spectrometer would cost tens of thousands of dollars and be stuck in a lab. Now, people can pay for a low monthly subscription fee that gives them access to the device and the connected phone application.
At a collection event in Bellingham, the team gathered old fishing nets and plastic, then made large bales to be sent off to recycle.
"We can grind them up, turn them into pellets and use them in the manufacture of other plastic products,” Baker said.
Baker said they focus on Washington and Alaska but are also expanding to cover more of the country. She encourages anyone who has old fishing gear to reach out to them so they can help make sure the plastic is properly recycled.