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Mitigation approach of plastic and microplastic pollution through recycling of fishing nets at the end of life
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Discarded fishing nets are a major source of ocean plastic pollution, harming marine life and breaking down into microplastics that can enter the food chain and, eventually, our bodies. Scientists found a way to turn these old nets into new durable materials by combining them with other recycled plastics, offering a practical way to keep this waste out of the ocean and landfills. This kind of recycling could help shrink the growing microplastic problem at its source, rather than just cleaning up after it happens.
Plastic and microplastic pollution in the marine environment is a global issue and lost or discarded fishing nets (FNs) represent a relevant part of the marine litter. This type of waste is very harmful to marine organisms due to ghost fishing and microplastics release. Furthermore, nets are difficult to dispose because they take up a lot of space at landfill sites and are expensive to transport. Therefore, the development of recovery and recycling strategies represents one of the solutions for this problem. In the present work, a multifilament, knotted, twisted waste FN, composed of nylon 6,6, was recycled realizing composite materials in combination with recycled expanded polystyrene (EPS) or poly (acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene) (ABS) matrices. The composites were realized exploiting a cold mixing approach, mixing the FN, either as a pre-ground short fiber filler or as mats, with the polymers swollen in an organic solvent. Several compositions were explored by these approaches and the composites were characterized by means of thermal, spectroscopic, mechanical and morphological analysis. Finally, a qualitative assessment of the economic impact of fishing net recycling approach was conducted. Results showed that the proposed recycling approaches allow to realize composite materials with interesting properties, opening new routes for recycling the FNs at the end of life improving the circular economy of plastics and reducing their ecological, ecosystem service and social and economic impacts.
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