South Africa’s first harbour-based fishing-net recycling facility has opened its doors at the V&A Waterfront, in Cape Town.

The containerised micro-recycling pod, located at Collier Jetty, processes end-of-life fishing nets into raw materials for reuse in plastic manufacturing.

The recycling pod, housed in a converted shipping container, can shred, wash, dry and densify up to 100 kg of used nets an hour.

By transforming discarded fishing gear into clean plastic flakes, the facility prevents waste from reaching landfills, or the ocean, while it also reduces the risk of ghost fishing gear harming marine life.

The facility also creates new economic opportunities.

The launch of this pilot project is being led by OCEAN Action Network and Ocean Plastic Technologies (OPT), while the South African Deep-Sea Trawling Industry Association supported the project by securing funding from the Marine Stewardship Council’s Ocean Stewardship Fund.

The V&A Waterfront also supported the project by donating space to host and operate the facility.

Speaking at the launch of the facility, Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Minister Dr Dion George said the initiative supported South Africa’s national commitments under the National Environmental Management Waste Act, while it also advanced global goals such as Sustainable Development Goal 14: Life Below Water.

He emphasised that the project complemented the ambitions of the emerging Global Plastic Treaty, and reflected South Africa’s leadership on this issue within the G20 Presidency.

“The solution we see here today – the recycling and repurposing of end-of-life fishing gear – provides a glimpse of what a sustainable future can look like,” noted George.

“This is how we build resilience in our blue economy, ensuring that economic activity supports environmental protection.”

“This is more than just a recycling project,” added OCEAN Action Network MD Estelle van der Merwe.

“It’s about protecting marine ecosystems, supporting South Africa’s fishing communities, and building a model that can be replicated in other harbours around the country and across the continent.”

With the recycling pod now fully operational, the next step is to scale the model.

OPT’s self-contained plant is designed for replication, and additional containers can easily be deployed to other harbours around South Africa.

The net-recycling project aims to create a scalable, circular economy solution for marine plastic waste at the harbour’s edge.