Calling All Students: Figure Out a Better Way to Recycle Fishing Line and You Could Win $15,000
BoatUS Foundation and Berkley team up for “Recast & Recycle Contest”
ANNAPOLIS, Md., September 10, 2020 – Young adults love fishing. Combining angling with the independent thinking and problem-solving skills taught in today’s classrooms, the 501(c)(3) BoatUS Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water and fishing tackle company Berkley have teamed up for a year-long Recast and Recycle Contest that seeks out improvements or technology breakthroughs to the fishing line recycling process. The goal is to ultimately increase the volume of line and soft bait recycling in the U.S.
“We hope to tap into creative minds of students on an environmental issue that may be affecting them locally,” said BoatUS Foundation Director of Outreach Alanna Keating. “Some young adults who fish have probably seen discarded fishing line firsthand. This contest gives students a way to utilize science, technology and engineering to help solve a problem that may be important to their entire community.”
Recycling fishing line today is a costly and labor-intensive process. Discarded line can also end up in waterways and landfills where it can remain a problem for birds and wildlife. There are also currently no nationwide recycling programs for fishing-related materials like soft baits.
A total of $30,000 in prize money is at stake ($15,000 first place, $10,000 second place, $5,000 third place). The contest is open to anyone willing to submit an entry, including individual students, classes and schools. The deadline for entries is May 14, 2021. Contest entries can be submitted with as little as a link to a video demonstration of the idea or one-page graphic summary. Videos are limited to 4 minutes. Entries will be judged for their practicality, innovation, and potential for significant impact.
Contest rules and conditions, details on the current recycling process and videos on how various plastics and soft baits are recycled can be found at the Recast & Recycle Contest website
