When Ian Falconer, an environmental geologist from Cornwall, noticed piles of worn-out nets at Newlyn harbour, he knew there had to be a better solution than sending them to landfill or letting them pollute the ocean. Instead, Ian came up with the idea to shred, clean, and melt the nets, turning the nylon into small beads that are then converted into filament, material used to create objects by a 3D printer.  

Since starting his company OrCA (formerly Fishy Filaments) in 2017, Ian has developed machinery that can process over 20 kilograms of nets an hour, producing filament with less than 3 per cent of the carbon impact of new nylon. The recycled nylon can also be mixed with waste carbon fibre to create strong, high-value products such as lightweight sunglasses, bike parts and industrial components. 

“Every year, up to one million tonnes of fishing nets are discarded,” said Falconer.  

“Most of it ends up in landfill, is burned, or worse, returns to the oceans. Our process gives these nets a new life.”  

Ian’s approach turns a costly, hazardous waste into a profitable raw material, transforming what used to be a problem into a resource. OrCA’s products are already being used by large multi-national companies in the electronics, beauty and automotive industry, helping them increase the recycled content in their products and reduce their carbon footprint.  

Next, Ian hopes to share his compact, container-based recycling system with harbours around the world, making it easy for anyone to turn old nets into valuable material.  

“The beauty of it is that it all fits in a shipping container, and anyone can operate it. Every harbour could turn waste nets into something valuable.”  

By transforming old fishing nets into high-quality, sustainable materials, Ian is proving that even small local solutions can have global impact – preventing nets from harming marine life protecting oceans, reducing landfill waste and supporting a circular economy.