New Hartlepool recycling scheme helps reduce fishing waste

12 pipe bins have been installed across the North East coast to provide an eco-friendly way to dispose of waste fishing lines, commercial fishing nets and rope debris.

All material collected is then taken to a recycling centre in Hull where it is turned into products such as chairs, planters and recycling stations.

One pipe bin has already been installed at Middleton Pier, in Hartlepool Marina, with the support of Anglers National Line Recycling Scheme (ANLRS) and Sunderland Marine Insurance.

ANLRS was launched in 2018 as a voluntary scheme to help people cut back on waste fishing products and to protect marine life, and has since expanded its clientele North.

Viv Shears, co-founder of ANLRS, described how difficult it is to recycle waste fishing products because of how dirty they become.

He said: “Fishing lines are pure plastic but once they are dirty, places don’t want to touch them.”

Sunderland Marine Insurance has supported ANLRS since 2018 and Duncan Perrin, the firm’s aquaculture manager, said: “It’s nice to be able to do something locally that also has a link to the maritime field.”

He added: “We would just like to thank Hartlepool Big Town Tidy Up and the council. Without them, there would have been no point in making donations, especially if no one is going to be there to help.”

A spokesperson for Hartlepool Big Town Tidy Up, a community group that keeps Hartlepool’s streets tidy, said: “I’m happy to report all is going smoothly with the bin since it’s been installed and I’ve been making regular checks.”