SK Ecoplant, S.Korean startup to recycle waste fishing nets in SE Asia

South Korea’s top waste management company SK Ecoplant has joined forces with Netspa, a Busan-based startup for recycling waste fishing nets, to collect such trash in Vietnam for use in making recycled nylon.

The company on Tuesday said it signed an agreement with Netspa to set up a joint venture by year’s end and promote joint business in Southeast Asia. To restore the marine ecosystem, they will employ a resource circulation model of collecting fishing nets discarded in the sea for making nylon, focusing on regions of heavy fishing off the coasts of central and southern Vietnam.

Their goals are annual output of 8,000 tons of recycled nylon from the second half of next year, yearly CO2 reduction of 50,000 tons and creation of more than 1,000 jobs.

This project is considered a model of cooperation between a corporation and a startup that changes the environmental and social structures of developing economies.

The Korea International Cooperation Agency also selected it as a preliminary venture for its Platform ESG (Environment, Society, Governance) Initiative. From next year, the agency will provide half of the project cost, or 5 billion won ($3.7 million), over five years.

Write to In-Hyeok Lee at twopeople@hankyung.com