New sites needed for BoatUS Foundation ‘Reel In & Recycle’ program
Ready for a roadtrip? If you packed your bags — and tacklebox — and drove from Washington, D.C. to San Diego, Calif., you would travel nearly 2,700 miles. That’s also the amount of fishing line that was recycled through the BoatUS Foundation’s Reel In & Recycle program last year, which gives anglers an easy way to recycle fishing line at over a thousand locations across the country.
“This effort happens as a result of many individuals and organizations,” said BoatUS Foundation Director of Environmental Programs Susan Shingledecker. “In the last two years we’ve built and distributed nearly 1,200 fishing line recycling bins to local groups around the country. These three-foot tall PVC storage tubes keep discarded fishing line out of our waterways and helps protect fish, birds and other wildlife from entanglement.”
The bins are installed on piers, docks and buildings at waters’ edge and maintained by fishing clubs, Scouting groups, marinas, and other local volunteers. The 2700 miles of line collected by these volunteers was sent to Berkley Conservation Institute, a division of Pure Fishing, for recycling where it was melted down and used to make other products.
Adding to this total, boating, sailing and fishing products retailer West Marine recycled line collected at their stores.
“West Marine is a vital partner in this effort,” added Shingledecker. “When respooling line for customers, there’s a great opportunity to collect large volumes of line for recycling.”
The company tracks their stores line collection through online tools and provides incentives to the volunteer groups to collect and recycle their old line. Each time one of the BoatUS Foundation’s 1,200 recycling bin sites reports a line shipment to Berkley, the group is entered to win a $100 West Marine Gift Card in a monthly drawing.
The BoatUS Foundation is building an additional 1200 recycling bins this spring and is looking for new Reel In & Recycle bin locations. Those interested in receiving a free bin can visit www.BoatUS.com/foundation/monofilament to sign-up on a waitlist.