Bjørøya will deliver all discarded aquaculture equipment to Oceanize. The aquaculture company chooses recycling in Norway and contributes to reducing significant environmental impacts from waste exports.
Researchers from NTNU (Norwegian University of Science and Technology), Niva (Norwegian Institute for Water Research) and Salt recently launched the term "Small Circles" as the only sustainable solution for recycling plastic waste. "Small Circles" argues that recycling must take place as close as possible to where the plastic waste is generated in order to be sustainable. According to the researchers, today's massive export of plastic waste leads to significant environmental impacts and hinders value creation.
Important with short trips
Bjørøya has recently entered into an agreement with Oceanize for all its discarded aquaculture equipment. Oceanize's transparent and national treatment courses for Norwegian industrial plastics were decisive for the signing of the contract.
-Through our collaboration with Oceanize, Bjørøya recycles all of feed hoses, nets and other plastic products. Bjørøya aims to reduce the footprint throughout the value chain and we have therefore chosen to enter into a collaboration with Oceanize, says Hanne Sørum, marketing and communications manager at Bjørøya.
According to Associate Professor Paritosh Deshpande at the Department of Industrial Economics and Technology Management at NTNU, the global waste trade leads to significant emissions and negative environmental impacts in low-income countries.
- If the waste is recycled geographically close to where the waste is generated, the environmental impact is reduced. At the same time, this ensures that waste-producing regions take responsibility for their own waste production and management, says Deshpande, who adds that the "Small Circles" approach can allow for significantly increased value creation in Norway.
- The "Small Circles" approach takes into account a triple bottom line where both the climate, social conditions and economic aspects are taken into account in sustainability assessments. The method contributes to the development of new, circular value chains across industries, it also provides great opportunities for value creation in Norway, Deshpande states.
Works for «Small Circles»
Today, only nine percent of plastic is recycled, and marine plastic waste is considered one of the greatest environmental threats of our time. Oceanize receives and treats plastic waste from Norwegian aquaculture and the fishing industry, and works actively to ensure that more and more of it is recycled domestically.
- Last year, our 60 employees recycled more than 3,000 tonnes of plastic, and an increasing proportion is used to make new, Norwegian plastic products. We want to reinforce this, not least when we now know that waste exports can be equated with landfilling and that both material and energy recovery in Norway is far more sustainable, says Tormod Steen, head of sustainability in Oceanize and the Moen group.
