CEO of Nofir, Øistein Aleksandersen, says that Nofir wants to do two things with the project: to recycle as many sports nets as possible, and to offer recycled sports nets in return.

– The starting point is the massive consumption of sports networks in Norway today. Where we previously had a theory that this was of enormous proportions, we have had it emphatically confirmed in our meetings with everything from sports' own parent organizations to professional football clubs, municipal purchasers and voluntary organizations over the past year.

– At the same time, we possess quality nets from the fishing industry, which we can now give a new, long life in the sport. The saying that "one man's trash is another's treasure" "I have rarely voted more than here," says Aleksandersen.

For example, there are about 1,000 permanent beach volleyball courts in Norway today, if all of these use ball stopper nets, this equates to approximately 2,750,000 m2 of nets here alone.

If we look at football, there are 199 artificial turf pitches, 177 ball bins and 130 loops in the Oslo Football District alone. All of these use nets of various kinds, to a large extent. Furthermore, there are 186 registered schools in Oslo, and the vast majority use sports nets in connection with outdoor areas and gyms.

If we look at the entire country, these numbers will be much larger, and if we add sports such as handball, golf, basketball or ice hockey, the actual need for high-quality nets increases considerably.

Overwhelming response

Nofir's general manager says that they initially worked blindly on the project, but are now very confident in their goal of recovering – and offering – sports nets on a large scale.

– The response has been overwhelming. We have worked from a thesis that this was a relevant issue, and had it proven so emphatically. To quote a customer we have been in contact with: something so "diabolical" happens with nets for football goals and the like within a year. All that was missing was a proper recycling solution in place, and that there were alternatives for buying more sustainable nets.

He emphasizes that the response has also been very positive from the fishing and aquaculture industry. That's a bonus.

– The fishing industry that we are focusing on with this project undeniably sees value in being able to trace its recycling efforts to something as concrete as this. The fact that a net can be retrieved from the sea and delivered for recycling in Egersund, and later returned as a football net at a local school is simply awesome – and it makes all the environmental and climate goals so much more concrete and easy to relate to, says Aleksandersen:

– We believe and hope this will motivate even more recycling, and even more investment in concepts such as circularity and measures that fill these with meaning.