A Newquay social enterprise that turns marine plastic pollution into adventure products has been able to scale up is operations thanks to the support of a waste management business.
Waterhaul at Treloggan Industrial Estate has been supplied with balers from Greenbank Recycling based in the North East, which will enhance its efficiency in recycling discarded fishing nets.
Through online research, Waterhaul discovered Greenbank Recycling Solution’s balers have proven to be instrumental in their recycling process.
By compacting bales of nets, the baler reduces the volume by up to 300 per cent compared to loose bags, significantly improving the efficiency of transporting and storing the materials.
Harry Dennis, the founder of Waterhaul, said: "We had an excellent and personal experience with Charles Carruth, the managing director of Greenbank Recycling Solutions visiting our site, engaging with our unique materials and problems, and helping us develop a solution.
“As a small business we’re always working within tight budgets, but Charles was able to deliver us an affordable solution and we’re thrilled with the results.”
Founded in 2018 and publicly launched in 2019, Waterhaul was created to combat the pervasive issue of ghost gear, which are lost, abandoned, or discarded fishing gear that pollutes the oceans.
Nets are the most abundant form of plastic in the ocean and are lethal to marine life that become entangled and trapped in these nets, which attracts more species, resulting in an ongoing loop of catches. As these discarded nets are produced from plastic, they will not degrade, persisting in the ocean to catch and kill marine life indefinitely.
Waterhaul, recognising the value in these durable, reusable materials, transforms the harmful waste into high-quality products designed for adventure, such as sunglasses.
The social enterprise gives these discarded materials value, encouraging their collection and recycling. The process involves recovering nets from the ocean, sorting them by polymer type, shredding, washing, and extruding them into pellets, which are then injection moulded into final products.
Mr Carruth, from Greenbank Recycling Solutions, said: “We are dedicated to providing innovative waste management solutions that help businesses become more efficient and environmentally friendly.
“All the companies we work with are making great strides in helping to reduce waste and save our planet, but Waterhaul is at the very top of that game, producing environmentally products using some of the most harmful plastics in our environment, and we are delighted to be supporting them on that journey.”