An established system managing waste or abandoned material from fishing and fish farming sectors.
Since the very existence of human beings, we have always been executing activities to ensure our survival. As time went by, we started evolving, adapting, and improvising our methods. Gradually, necessities started becoming easy to get and humans inclined towards wants, giving their wants priority once they fulfilled their necessities.
Today, mankind poses a great threat to the natural ecosystem because of pollution emitted on a large scale every single day. Amongst other ways in which the planet is in danger, one major impactful threat to the ecosystem is the marine waste. There are a lot of manmade products that collectively form this marine waste. Plastic, rope, medical waste, polystyrene, fishing line, and nets, are a few items to name.
There are a lot of manmade products that collectively form this marine waste. Plastic, rope, medical waste, polystyrene, fishing line, and nets, are a few items to name
Bringing into consideration the impact that this waste has on the environment, several organizations have undertaken the task of cleansing the waters of this waste. One such company that not only has been successful in clearing water bodies of this waste but also made good out of the waste by making human usable products is NOFIR.
NOFIR an innovative Norwegian company working hard on sustainability
NOFIR is a Norway based organization that was founded in 2008 with an aim to establish a system to manage waste or abandoned material from the fishing and fish farming sectors, and this is how NOFIR came into existence. Since 2011 Nofir has collected almost 70,000 tonnes of discarded fishing & fish farming equipment, standing at the forefront of the recycling revolution, breathing new life into discarded fishing and fish farming equipment sourced globally. Through innovative processes, Nofir converts this ocean-bound plastic into a versatile raw material, powering the recycling industry with sustainable solutions.
While waste companies traditionally funnel discarded equipment from fisheries and aquaculture towards landfills, Nofir champions a different approach. Recognizing the untapped potential for recycling, Nofir offers invaluable support to waste companies, equipping them with the knowledge and tools necessary to identify and segregate recyclable materials effectively.
By fostering collaboration and sharing expertise, Nofir ensures that valuable resources are salvaged from the brink of waste, paving the way for a circular economy where discarded materials find new purpose and contribute to a more sustainable future.
Nofir Marine waste collection and production of new materials
As every solution must have a problem to solve, a joint-venture between a fishnet producer and a waste management company resulted in the foundation of NOFIR. The common problem that was at high tide was that there were very few eco-friendly methods to dispose of discarded plastic material from the fish industry, to which NOFIR provided a solution.
NOFIR was based on collecting waste from facilities. At first, focusing on raising awareness in the fishing- and fish farming industry and offering several bases along with the coast welcoming equipment for free or at low-cost NOFIR expected to reach a large proportion of actors in the industry. Experience showed them that there was no tradition in paying to get rid of the waste or putting work into it, i.e. packing and transporting.
The resources collected were of different values and had different demands in the market of recycled material. In 2012 Nofir was as first Norwegian company granted support from the EU through the Eco-Innovation Project. The goal of this initiative is to help good, innovative ideas that protect the environment become fully-fledged commercial prospects, ready for use by business and industry. In doing so the initiative not only helps the EU meet its environmental objectives but also boosts economic growth.
Nofir Marine waste collection and production of new materials
With this support, Nofir was able to map and execute an expansion from Norway to Europe. From 2011-2015 Nofir collected equipment from 4 continents: Europe, Turkey, Asia, America.
The Process at NOFIR: At NOFIR, a particular process is followed right from collecting the waste to producing new products. It is a 5-step process from the start to the end. The process is Collecting-Transporting-Dismantling-Recycling-New Products.
Collecting: NOFIR is constantly on the search for companies, organizations, fishermen, etc. who need to dispose of fishing equipment. They collect the waste from them and get ready for the nest stage. NOFIR has collected around 20,250 tons of discarded equipment across 4 continents, America, Europe, Africa, and Asia from 2011-2015.
It is collected different kinds of fishing and fish farming equipment around the world like trawls, purse seine nets, gill nets, fish farming nets and cages, ropes.
All of the equipment is sent to the Nofir factory in Lithuania/Turkey for dismantling. After proper treatment, most nets are transported to Aquafil’s factory in Slovenia to make Econyl brand – the base to create brand new products. Fishing equipment can end up as a new swimsuit or fluffy carpet and if they are made from ECONYL® they can be recycled forever.
Transporting: After collecting the discarded equipment, NOFIR arranges transportation for the equipment that is transported to their factories in Lithuania or Turkey. In these factories, the equipment is handled for the next steps of dismantling and recycling.
Dismantling: The discarded equipment that has not been dismantled yet is collected. All the material is dismantled to make value of it. After the dismantling process is done. The material is sent to the recycling factory for further processing.
Recycling: NOFIR sends most of the dismantled material to Aquafil which is a recycling factory in Slovenia. At Aquafil, all the equipment is regenerated into ECONYL® yarn used for making new textile goods.
New products
After going to a long process, the discarded equipment from the fishing sectors turns into brand new products like clothes (socks, bikini, shorts), carpets, furniture (hammocks, garden furniture), baskets for supermarkets etc.
Materials Recycled by Nofir
NOFIR has plans to create a system for Europe that will be collecting discarded equipment and organize information campaign in support of the protection of European seas. NOFIR is open for Co-operation with fishermen, businesses, or institutions that want to get rid of useless materials.
The EU environmental committees may certainly coordinate Governmental sectors from each member to collaborate with NOFIR and benefit from the patterned economy, moreover to train members adopting a new attitude and blue economy.
Hear From NOFIR
View more: https://nofir.no/ and contact directly the Procurement Manager,
Kristian: kristian@nofir.no +47 993 59 545
Online shop for vendors: https://shop.nofir.no/
