In order to align local governments with the Marine Debris Recycling Alliance (MDRA) to form the chain of recycling of marine debris resources, the Ocean Conservation Administration (OCA), Ocean Affairs Council, held a seminar on June 27, 2022, inviting members of MDRA and local governments to attend in the hope of facilitating mutual understanding through the exchange and increasing the cooperation opportunities of marine debris re-use.
The seminar was held both online and face-to-face due to the pandemic and 14 companies (organizations) and 15 local governments with a total of 46 people were invited to join the event. During the seminar, the results and planning of the pilot project entrusted to local governments, the current situation of marine debris recycling and the annual activities of the Alliance and the opinions of the Alliance members were stated and discussed. The fact that the seminar was well attended showed that all walks of life attach great importance to marine conservation and circular economy.
According to OCA, the environmental problems caused by marine debris are gradually becoming globalized, and the demand for recycled materials has increased dramatically along with the call for recycling economy. In order to encourage domestic fishermen to recycle waste fishing nets for reuse, OCA has not only entrusted county and municipal governments to try out recycling of waste fishing nets (oyster ropes) and outlying islands' waste styrofoam (floating gear), but also established the Marine Debris Recycling Alliance in 2021 to strengthen the development of the marine debris recycling economy and plan the promotion of marine debris related work from an overall perspective. This year (2022), the "Marine Debris Recycling Information Exchange Platform" (https://mdinfo.oca.gov.tw/) was established to provide information on the raw materials side and the product side, and to create matching opportunities through public information. Today, OCA held a "Marine Debris Recycling Alliance" seminar to facilitate exchange and will continue to hold various educational training or demonstrations according to the needs of the members.
In addition, in response to the 3rd National Oceans Day on June 8, 2022, OCA invited the members of MDRA to join the event. Ltd. developed Taiwan's first pair of frames made from 100% recycled nylon fishing nets - "Zero and Ocean Marine Recycled Eyewear" which was officially launched in June this year and launched in mass production. With the blessing of the ocean (https://reurl.cc/KbnD7R) presented by Chiu Sen-Pin, President of Lite-On Technology, Thomas Chen, President of Hwa Meei Optical Co., Ltd. and Chang Ping-Chiu, Chief Operating Officer of Far Eastern New Century’s Chemical Fiber Headquarters, 8 members of MDRA conducted an online demonstration of MDRA products (https://reurl.cc/ZAEm2W), among which the member 720 International Limited developed Taiwan's first pair of eyeglasses frames made from 100% recycled nylon fishing nets - "Zero & Ocean Recycled Eyeglasses," which was officially launched in June this year and now in mass production.
OCA is actively addressing the issue of marine debris and establishing a mechanism to accelerate the flow of marine debris into the proper cleanup pipeline. OCA also calls for more use from the production source and recycling industry and hopes to increase the proportion of marine waste re-use through information exchange platform sharing. The members of MDRA are cooperating with the power of corporate brands to promote the recycling of waste fishing nets and high quality products to promote the recycling of marine debris plastics, which is an exemplary case of the industry chain cooperating to work together for sustainable marine ecology and to carry through the ideal of circular economy for waste fishing nets, hoping to continue to innovate and develop technologies to expand the portfolio of marine debris products to achieve a win-win situation for both economy and ocean conservation.

Responsible Authority and Spokesperson: Sung Hsin-Chen, OCA Deputy Director-General
Tel: 0905-205-669
Date of issue: June 27, 2022