ABOUT US
A FEW FACTS
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1.25 million kilometers - The estimated amount of line used by anglers, of all disciplines, by UK anglers each year. That is nearly enough to go to the moon 3 times!
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600 YEARS + for heavy monofilament to degrade but it then only adds to the issue of aquatic micro plastics. For every 1lb breaking strain assume 10 years to break down into microplastics.
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1950s – the first commercial monofilament produced. This means potentially any line over 7lbs breaking strain is likely to still be present in the aquatic environment and landfills.
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INCINERATION OR LANDFILL – the only options for our line if not recycled through a scheme such as the ANLRS.
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NORMAL PLASTIC RECYCLING ROUTES – local council and domestic recycling bins do not take line or spools. It will end up being landfill or incinerated.
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RUBBISH or RESOURCE – Fishing lines, braids, and the plastic spools it comes on, can be recycled using our recycling partner's innovative methods.
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THREAT - Discarded line poses a threat to other water users, pets, wildlife and the image of the angling sector.
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NOW there IS a recycling destination for the fishing line with the ANLRS
Recycling is part of all our daily lives and the benefits of preventing line ending up in landfill or being incinerated are obvious. As anglers, we treasure the environments that we fish in and the wildlife found around them, so line recycling demonstrates the
responsibility of the angling community towards the issue of unwanted or lost line to the public.
HOW DID THE SCHEME START?
The original scheme was the first line recycling project of its kind in the UK, founded in 2016 by a volunteer lead organisation, Local Independent Sea Anglers (LISA) and involved a few tackle shops in Sussex. LISA, working in conjunction with Global Ghost Gear Initiative, had identified a viable route for fishing line to be recycled. After the positive success of the local collections, it became apparent that anglers, far and wide, along with the tackle industry were keen to get involved.
To develop the scheme further it was decided that a clear 'national identity' which covered all angling disciplines, was needed and the scheme slogan of “Something the whole of angling can agree on” was born. LISA members launched the Anglers
National Line Recycling Scheme (ANLRS) in early 2018. It remains a scheme which is run on the same, purely voluntary basis. Funding for the scheme is via donations from anglers, tackle shops, fisheries, tackle manufacturers and other interested
organisations. The ANLRS is continually exploring funding routes through government and environmental organisations.
Since its launch in March 2018 over 350 shops have signed up to the ANLRS along with over 185 fisheries, angling clubs, charter boats and some manufacturers have pledged their on-going support. Other organisations have also given the scheme their support such as the RSPCA, who have ANLRS bins at their wildlife centres, and several of the regional Inshore Fisheries & Conservation Associations (IFCAs) have also supported the scheme. The scheme is also working with the Angling Trust to investigate collaborative projects that will expand the scheme and its impact across the country.
Recently the scheme has been approached by organisations outside of angling that carry out beach cleans and litter collecting events around waterways to help with disposal of angling related litter. Several partnerships have been formed around the country to enable them to return any discarded fishing line to us so that they know it is being recycled. Yet again the scheme is reaching out beyond angling, engaging with the public and showing that anglers are solving problems!
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In June 2019, the ANLRS registered as a Limited Community Interest Company (CIC) to create a scheme that could actively pursue funding from organisations to expand its work. This was essential as grants and funding are often only awarded to registered schemes with fully audited accounts.
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There are three Directors, but no share capital has been issued. This means that no funds can be withdrawn by them in terms of dividends and all three carry out their directorship on a voluntary basis. Should the company finish then all funds are donated to Macmillan Nurses via the Stoney & Friends charity.
The three Directors are
Viv Shears
Steven Tapp
Paul Singleton
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More info on the people behind the scheme can be found in the Meet the Team Section. Click here
The scheme is managed on a non-profit basis and any excess money generated from the schemes activities is put into projects that benefit anglers, angling and the environment. The scheme is built from the grass roots upwards and every one of us can have an input into making angling that little bit greener.
BEYOND OUR SHORES...
It didn’t take long for the scheme to attract attention beyond our shores here. We now have mirror schemes in Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland and Belgium where volunteer co-ordinators came forward to organise the scheme in their home country. We are currently talking with three other angling organisations in Europe to try to establish the scheme in their countries.
Added to this we have number of tackle shops in Europe that have signed up having heard about the scheme and its success here. All our European collections are sent to Plastix in Denmark that specialise in recycling commercial fishing nets and monofilaments.
We are also in conversations with other similar schemes that collect recreational fishing line around the world from Canada to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.