Pictured is a monofilament fishing recycling bin, in process of cleaning and fishing line removal. Joplin anglers and park visitors have been regularly utilizing recycling bins installed at the boat ramps located at Wildcat Park and McIndoe Park the last couple of years.
Left onshore, the fishing line can tangle swimmers, pets, and wildlife. Line in the water can be mistakenly ingested by wildlife and tangle boat propellers and recreational floaters. Even if we place the line in the trash, birds can remove from open bins and landfills and become dangerously entangled.
Berkley Pure Fishing Line Company, one of the largest producers of monofilament fishing line has been recycling discarded line since 1990. Berkley melts the line down into raw plastic pellets that can be made into other plastic products including tackle boxes, line spools, fish habitats, and toys. It is not made into more monofilament line.
Our Missouri Stream Team program partnered with Berkley in 2005 and has been providing registered recycling bins to volunteer Stream Team members. Volunteers clean out the bins periodically and drop off the discarded monofilament line at various locations such as fishing retailers and the Missouri Department of Conservation. Thereafter collection bins are shipped to Berkley for processing.
If you would like to join the Missouri Stream Team and install and monitor a monofilament recovery bin in your favorite fishing area, click here for more details. http://www.mostreamteam.org/activities.html
The good news is, your support has helped keep our beautiful Missouri waters safer and cleaner! Thank you for picking up the discarded fishing line and recycling it!
By: Amera Wild, member of Missouri Master Naturalists, Missouri Stream Team, Prairie Foundation, Trumpeter Swan Society, and Wildcat Glades Friends Group.