On Wednesday this week, the waste management company Reno-Vest invited partners who have been instrumental in making the Plastic Terminal a reality, along with key industry players, to an official opening ceremony.
The opening event took place in the hall itself, on the concrete floor, surrounded by the machinery and the people who will carry the initiative forward. The regional youth council helped with the rope-cutting that marked the start of this future-oriented initiative.
The facility at Bremnes is described as an entirely new link in a circular value chain, and represents a historic investment for the commercial division of Reno-Vest, together with Holmøy Maritime, which is a co-owner of Plastterminalen AS. The aim is for plastic waste from fisheries and aquaculture to be recycled into new products, instead of these resources being incinerated or ending their days in landfill.
SFI Dsolve was invited to the opening and also made a major contribution to the subsequent seminar on plastic waste from the seafood industries, held at Kulturfabrikken in Sortland. Chair of the Board Terje Martinussen gave a talk on “Plastic in the ocean: challenges and possible solutions for the fisheries and aquaculture industries” and on SFI Dsolve’s work on biodegradable materials for fishing and aquaculture gear. PhD student Anja Alvestad shared experiences from field testing of biodegradable fishing gear in Research Area 3 of Dsolve. She also presented results from the EU Horizon-project SEARCULAR, which has aimed to develop more sustainable solutions for European fisheries. The head of Research Area 6, Hilde Rødås Johnsen, also attended the opening.
The presentations from SFI Dsolve attracted strong interest from an audience of key players in waste management, marine litter, research and development.
