We are used to seeing how waste has a second life: bottles made from recycled glass, sheets made from recycled paper, or even pants made from plastic from bottles that went to the dumpster.
But perhaps it is surprising when what comes out of the sea, returns to the sea. And no, we are not talking about fish: we are talking about the plastics that come out of the water as trash and return to the sea transformed into impressive surfboards.
That is what they are dedicated to Trash Peak, a company from Cadiz that is dedicated to cleaning the waters of plastics and turning them into transparent surfboards. With two and a half kilos of plastic are able to build one of these completely effective plates to deal with the waves by means of 3D printing.
“From 2050, the weight of plastics in the sea will exceed that of the fish that live in it,” he says. Paul Osuna, one of the founding partners. So far, according to data on their website, they have withdrawn 368 kilos of garbage and they have reused 54 of them to make these tables.
“The basis of this project is the manufacture of sustainable and ecological surfboards through plastics collected on our coastline,” he says from the beaches of Rota, where they have their headquarters and workshop.
The example of ‘Trash Peak’ is also evidence that the so-called blue economy has great potential in our country. Within this concept are included those industries and sectors that are related to the coasts, the seas and the oceans and that, above all, have a sustainable approach.
Other evidence that the blue economy is gaining strength is Zero Risk 2030. It is an application that seeks to take care of tourist points and give key information to visitors with the aim of promoting blue and safe tourism.
“The patrimonial element is the main one and as a tourist attraction, the natural, ethnographic and historical heritage”, the promoter of the application explains to this chain, Esther Gates.
According to a study by the European Union, the blue economy generates 4.5 million jobs in all the Member States and moves €650 billion in turnover.
And Spain is one of the countries that is most committed to this sector. It is the member state that contributes the most ‘blue’ employment to the whole of the Twenty-seven: 21%. About a million people in our country are dedicated to this field.
Among other things, thanks to the support of initiatives such as The incubator. It is a business accelerator in the Cádiz Free Trade Zone that, among others, has supported the two aforementioned initiatives.
“In the sector of the blue economy, a spectrum of possibilities opens up, more than future, present”, says the delegate of this organization, Francisco González.
From Incubazul they hope to incubate up to 60 projects, thanks to the support of the Feder funds from Brussels. The promotion of the sustainable blue economy is one of the priorities of the European Parliament and also of the funds Next Generation EU, that are already being deployed in our country.
Mario Twitchell is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his insightful and thought-provoking writing on a wide range of topics including general and opinion. He currently works as a writer at 247 news agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
