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Projekt LIFE GOZILLA

LIFE Pom GOZilla.PL project

The LIFE Pom GOZilla.PL project (full title: “Implementation of the Waste Management Plan for the Pomorskie Voivodeship (PGOWP), taking into account the municipal waste hierarchy and circular economy (CE) principles”) aims to implement the Waste Management Plan for the Pomorskie Voivodeship, incorporating the waste hierarchy and circular economy (CE) principles, including reduction, reuse and recycling (3R), with a particular focus on the sustainable management of municipal waste.

So, what is it all about – what is the circular economy?

The circular economy (CE) is a model of production and consumption based on changing our relationship with the things we use and extending the life cycle of products. It is about sharing, renting, reusing, repairing, refurbishing and recycling what already exists, and making use of existing materials and products instead of constantly buying and producing new ones.

The circular economy starts at the very beginning of a product’s life cycle – by reducing the use of raw materials in production and designing products that are more durable and easier to repair, reuse and recycle. (European Parliament definition)

Instead of the linear
“make – use – dispose”
model that has driven the world
for the past hundred years,
the circular economy is a model
in which nothing goes to waste.

 

Why is it important for the Baltic Sea?

For the Baltic Sea, the circular economy is not an abstract concept, but a way to reduce human pressure on marine ecosystems at its source. Every year, more than 11 million tonnes of plastic enter seas and oceans worldwide. Plastic now accounts for at least 85% of marine litter.¹ In the European Union, plastics make up 80–85% of litter found on beaches, while fishing-related items account for 27% of all marine litter.²

In the Baltic Sea, this problem is particularly significant. Our sea is shallow and almost enclosed, with an average depth of around 55 metres and limited water exchange with the North Sea. As a result, it acts like a “trap”, retaining pollutants for decades.

A particularly important part of this picture is used, lost or abandoned fishing gear. A global study published in Science Advances estimates that nearly 2% of all fishing gear used worldwide is lost to the ocean each year: around 2,963 km² of gillnets, 75,049 km² of purse seine nets, 218 km² of trawl nets, 739,583 km of longline mainlines, more than 25 million traps and nearly 14 billion hooks.³ In the Baltic Sea, HELCOM monitoring shows that between 2016 and 2021, as many as 11 of the 16 assessed sub-basins exceeded the threshold for good environmental status for beach litter, set at 20 litter items per 100 metres of coastline. Plastics accounted for 32% to 93% of all litter recorded. Studies of the Baltic seabed also found plastic to be the most commonly recorded litter material, accounting for 55.6%, while abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded fishing gear made up 22.2% of seafloor litter.⁴

This is why, in the LIFE Pom GOZilla.PL project, we talk about giving fishing nets a second life not simply as part of recycling, but as a tangible way to protect the sea. Ghost nets can continue to catch and entangle marine animals, damage habitats and, over time, break down into microplastics. However, if used fishing nets are collected in ports, properly processed and designed for reuse, they stop being a threat and become a resource. This is the essence of the circular economy: keeping materials in circulation before they disappear beneath the surface.

    

MARE in GOZilla.PL

As part of the project, Fundacja MARE is responsible for implementing WP9: Reducing Fisheries Waste.

The project will carry out comprehensive activities aimed at reducing waste generated by the fishing industry, with a particular focus on so-called “ghost nets”, which pose a significant threat to the Baltic Sea environment. The project combines practical, educational and systemic measures – from waste prevention and recovery to recycling – in cooperation with local authorities, fishers, scientists, ports and experts. The solutions developed will be tested in the Municipality of Ustka as part of a pilot programme and subsequently implemented in other coastal municipalities.

 Our activities include:

  • pilot activities in the Municipality of Ustka as a model for replication
  • identifying the problem of fisheries waste, including ghost nets and other fishing gear
  • cooperation with fishers, ports and scientists
  • developing methods to prevent waste generation and improve waste recovery
  • implementing collection and recycling solutions
  • drawing on the experience of European projects and established best practices
  • meetings and workshops for stakeholders, including round-table discussions and webinars
  • educational activities and public awareness campaigns
  • beach and seabed clean-up activities
  • developing joint actions for coastal municipalities

Planned long-term outcomes:

  • reducing marine pollution, including pollution from old fishing nets
  • protecting marine ecosystems and wildlife
  • improving systems for the collection and processing of fisheries waste
  • increasing awareness and engagement among local communities
  • developing a ready-to-use model for other coastal municipalities
  • strengthening cooperation for the protection of the Baltic Sea

Who will we be working with?

The project is coordinated by the Marshal’s Office of the Pomorskie Voivodeship, with partners including the Pomeranian Regional Development Agency, University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk City Hall, Pomeranian Tourism Board, Fundacja MARE, as well as 24 municipalities and two municipal companies.

Additional partners will be invited to contribute to the project through consultations, while the outcomes of our work will benefit all 123 municipalities in the Pomorskie Voivodeship, and, in the future, other local authorities in Poland and abroad.

The project is planned for 2025–2035 and will be divided into three stages.

The project is co-financed by the European Union’s LIFE Programme and the Polish National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management.

There’s plenty to come!

Follow the project on LINKEDIN and INSTAGRAM.

Find out more on the project website.

 

1) United Nations Environment Programme. 2021. From Pollution to Solution: A global assessment of marine litter and plastic pollution. Nairobi: UNEP.
2) European Parliament and Council of the European Union. 2019. Directive (EU) 2019/904 of 5 June 2019 on the reduction of the impact of certain plastic products on the environment. Official Journal of the European Union, L 155/1.
3) Richardson, K., Hardesty, B. D., Vince, J., & Wilcox, C. 2022. Global estimates of fishing gear lost to the ocean each year. Science Advances, 8(41), eabq0135. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abq0135.
4) Kammann, U. K. R., Nogueira, P., Wilhelm, E., Int-Veen, I., Aust, M.-O., & Wysujack, K. 2023. Abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) as part of marine litter at the seafloor of the Baltic Sea – Characterization, quantification, polymer composition and possible impact. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 194, 115348. DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115348.