MRRPMonofilament Recovery

And Recycle Program

What is monofilament?

• Monofilament fishing line is made from plastic and it does NOT biodegrade. It may photo degrade, breaking into smaller and smaller pieces, but never really goes away.

• Monofilament fishing line is used by fishermen all over the world.

This bundle of monofilament was

collected in a very small area along

Keystone Spit

Why collect it?

• When discarded in water or on the beach, it entangles wildlife, can be eaten by birds and fish, often causing death. It’s hazardous to divers, swimmers, boaters and marine mammals

What can we do about it?

• Collect and recycle it!

• Provide containers at popular fishing beaches/boat launch areas.

• Monitor the containers, collect the discarded line and recycle it. We’ve located a recycler in Burlington - Skagit River Steel and Recycling

What do you need to get started?

• Find a local plumbing supplier who’ll give you a discount (or donate the supplies?) on PVC piping and fixtures

• How many containers and what size? (your decision)

• The 6” containers = approximately $39 each

• The 4” containers = approximately $15 each(This is a discounted price obtained through Ferguson’s. Both these prices include stickers mentioned below)

• Have a construction party, you’ll need all the PVC parts and some glue to hold it together

• Descriptive stickers to put on the containersWe obtained ours from Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission (MyFWC.com) $5.00 per set of 5 stickers

CONSTRUCTION OF PVC FISHING LINE RECYCLING CONTAINERS

Materials needed (per station)

2’ of 6” PVC pipe

1 6” elbow

1 6” female threaded adapter

1 6” threaded male plug

Glue the elbow to one end of the pipe and the adapter to the other. Drill two holes in

the plug (this is for drainage in case water gets into the recycling container) and attach (hand tight). Affix stickers.

It doesn’t have to be

white PVC. This black

one was seen in

Australia!

It’s so easy to do

4 inch containers 6 inch containers

The bottom of the container unscrews so it’s easy to empty. We have drilled ¼” holes in the bottom for possible drainage. Plastic cable ties (Home Depot) were used to attach the containers. Additional sleeves (not shown on construction page) need to be purchased for 4 of each 5 x 2’ sections of pvc piping.

http://fishinglinerecycling.org/startup.htm

For more informationvisit

Wouldn’t it be nice to collect all the discarded monofilament line from all Washington beaches?

LET’S DO IT!