CARPERS EMBRACE CLEAN-UP CAMPAIGN
Tackle shops and manufacturers throw their weight behind nationwide initiative to dispose of old fishing line safely
ANATIONAL initiative to dispose of the miles of fishing line discarded by anglers each year has reached a significant milestone, with more than 100 tackle shops now signed up to the cause.
Each year an estimated 400 million metres of old line are thrown away, and since 2016 The Anglers National Line Recycling Scheme (ANLRS) has been engaged in a tough advertising strategy to encourage the angling community to set up a system for its safe disposal.
The drive has gathered real momentum in the past month, with a host of shops, fisheries and manufacturers joining the likes of Angling Direct and Fishing Republic in providing recycling facilities.
Carpfeed spoke to ANLRS volunteer Viv Shears about the rapid recent progress of the scheme. He said: “We now have 103 tackle shops signed up, in addition to the support from Sparsholt College, six different fisheries as well as three corporate supporters in the form of Linear Fisheries, Gardner Tackle and Lee Valley Park Fisheries.
“We are now waiting on the arrival of 10,000 flyers, which are sponsored by Lee Valley Park Fisheries, and these are being distributed to clubs and syndicates that have asked for information on the scheme for their members.”
Lewis Read, marketing and product development boss at Gardner Tackle – the first manufacturer to sign up to the scheme – said the decision to do so was an ‘outright no-brainer’. He said: “When
we were approached, we immediately thought ‘what a great idea!’ We also agreed that our sales reps could pick up line that has been left in shop bins to streamline the process and reduce overheads. Hopefully we can help to reduce the environmental impact of discarded line, which takes many years to degrade in landfill.”