Recycling Oyster Baskets
As a supplier of oyster farming equipment, Hexcyl Systems is acutely aware of our environmental responsibility to design and manufacture functional components that when used correctly will not contribute to adding plastic waste into oceans, bays and coastal estuaries that we as growers depend upon for our livelihood.
Our company culture means we always looks for ways to minimise our footprint on the environment to ensure that what we produce today will have minimal impacts on the generations of tomorrow. The production of functional, high quality, durable oyster farming equipment is consistent with this view. Aside from the ongoing repair and replacement cost of prematurely failed basket infrastructure most growers never factor in the additional expense or environmental impacts associated with the inevitable stockpiling and disposal of redundant baskets.
Gone are the days when oyster baskets were incinerated or simply tossed away as rubbish alongside general refuse destined for landfill. More commonly over the past thirty years oyster farmers’ have stockpiled oyster baskets on their land bases diverting the plastic away from entering landfill with the intention of supporting much more environmentally acceptable options such as recycling. Most oyster farmers practice the repair, reuse or repurposing of redundant baskets before disposal and/or recycling.
The recent introduction of a number of recycling initiatives in Australia has seen a dramatic reduction in regional stockpiles with many metric tonnes of redundant oyster baskets and plastic mesh being diverted from landfill to recycling efforts. The aim at Hexcyl Systems is to continue to explore material and design options that will prolong the serviceable life of our product range and ultimately where possible eliminate the need for recycling of Hexcyl baskets altogether.