In collaboration with fishermen’s associations and local governments, fishing net manufacturers, and recycling manufacturers, Formosa Chemicals & Fibre Corporation (FCFC) turns discarded fishing nets and oyster ropes into recycled nylon rubber pellets, which are then supplied to downstream manufacturers for use in products such as functional clothing or tires.
Faced with the increasingly serious pollution of marine debris, especially discarded fishing nets and oyster ropes, FCFC has invested massive amounts of manpower and resources in the collection, processing and reuse of nylon fishing nets.
Establishing a fishing net recycling mechanism
In partnership with King Chou Marine Technology, a fishing net manufacturer, FCFC recycles American seine nets from fishermen by exchanging old for new, thereby increasing the recycling rate. It also cooperates with fishermen associations and local governments, setting up temporary storage areas for fishing nets in fishing ports, and collecting, classifying and packaging them. Partnering recyclers then regularly retrieve the nets from Kinmen for further processing.
Nylon full recycling system
After the collected waste fishing nets are pre-processed, all PIR and post-consumer products (PCR) from the collaborative industrial chain are sent to the recycling plant, where they are classified and subjected to a series of treatments, including: crushing, melting, dispersion, refining, filtration and distillation, and finally made into recycled caprolactam (CPL). The CPL then undergoes the polymerization process to produce recycled nylon rubber particles. Currently, only three companies globally have successfully mass-produced nylon using chemical recycling of polymers; among them, FCFC’s annual production capacity has reached 15,000 tons, ranking first in the world. These materials can be further spun into nylon recycled yarn products, which can be used by downstream customers to make clothing, backpacks, tires, sports nets, aquaculture fishing nets and engineering plastics.
Benefits
- The recycled CPL consumes 15% less energy and emits 49% less carbon emissions than the primary CPL [1].
- This model effectively reduces the harm on marine life caused by abandoned fishing nets, improves the landscape of port areas and coastal regions, and prevents the haphazard dumping of discarded fishing nets.
[1] Regarding the reduction of crude oil mining and refining, and localized collection and processing.