Circular Plastics

There are many challenges in recycling ghost gear such as waste management, decontamination of materials, and clear identification of mixed materials. Ghost fishing gear can have lots of different states, depending on if it was collected at a harbour, on a beach, or in the bottom of the ocean. 

Streamlining the process from waste management to recycling ensures we can transform old waste into new products while retaining quality and strength. Innovation in regenerative materials science can pave the way to a Net Zero emissions economy while giving the ocean the opportunity to restore its natural balanced state.

In partnership with a team of researchers from the Department of Chemical Engineering at Polytechnique Montréal, specialized in plastics engineering and recycling, we embarked on a multi-year study to find multiple applications for recycled fishing gear.

There are many challenges in recycling ghost gear such as waste management, decontamination of materials, and clear identification of mixed materials. Ghost fishing gear can have lots of different states, depending on if it was collected at a harbour, on a beach, or in the bottom of the ocean.

Streamlining the process from waste management to recycling ensures we can transform old waste into new products while retaining quality and strength.

At Polytechnique Montreal, our research team has pioneered circular solutions to tackle the ghost gear problem. We've demonstrated the feasibility of recycling processes, turning ghost gear into recycled pellets suitable for manufacturing endless types of plastic products made by injection molding and 3D printing.

This includes some of the most challenging materials that currently can’t be recycled globally due to contamination from steel and lead.