Fishing Line Recycling Program Successes, Saving Wildlife
A Fishes Article from All-Creatures.org

FROM Bonnie Anderson and Diane Weinstein, Seattle Area Activists
July 15, 2018

Fishing line bins, where line can be safely discarded for recycling, have been installed in hundreds of locations including state, county and city parks as well as Washington Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) sites.... 42,000 feet of fishing line has been collected and recycled as of the end of 2017.

And see UPDATES: July 24, 2019 and August 2020

Great Blue Heron with fishng line around bill and neck...

Bonnie Anderson and Diane Weinstein promoted a Fishing Line Recovery and Recycling Program in Washington state a few years ago [see Washington Statewide Efforts to Save Wildlife, Pets from Fishing Lines].

Since that time fishing line bins, where line can be safely discarded for recycling, have been installed in hundreds of locations including state, county and city parks as well as Washington Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) sites.

We just received an email from WDFW with an attachment showing the bin locations. Of special note - 42,000 feet of fishing line has been collected and recycled as of the end of 2017. Monofilament Recovery & Recycling Program - Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife - Interim Report (PDF)

Fishing line recycling receptacle

We will be meeting with our contact at Washington State Parks next week to discuss the expansion of the program at additional state parks.

In general, we are pleased to report the program is going well and we are no doubt saving many animals and protecting the natural environment.

UPDATE as of July 24, 2019:

In my last update about the Fishing Line Recovery and Recycling program, I mentioned that Diane and I were planning to meet with our contact at the Department of State Parks. The meeting was held and I want to share the great news with you.

Here are the Washington State parks that are participating in the program:

• Anderson Lake
• Belfair
• Blake Island
• Dash Point
• Dosewallips
• Flaming Geyser
• Fort Flagler
• Fort Worden
• Fort Casey
• Illahee
• Jarrell Cove
• Joemma Beach
• Kanaskat-Palmer
• Lake Sammamish
• Manchester
• Nolte
• Penrose Point
• Pleasant Harbor
• Potlatch
• Saltwater
• Sequim Bay
• Triton Cove
• Twanoh
• Pearrygin Lake
• Conconully
• Curlew Lake
• Shafer
• Alta Lake
• Steamboat Rock
• Sun Lakes-Dry Falls
• Potholes
• Lake Easton
• Ginkgo/Wanapum
• Millersylvania
• Battle Ground Lake
• Beacon Rock.

We currently have 36 parks across the state, but some of the parks have multiple bins, which brings the bin total to 59. All the remaining parks have now been introduced to the program and fishing line collection bins will be added, as needed.

In addition, we have been advised that the Department of State parks and the Department of Fish and Wildlife will be working on plans to add information about this program to their web sites. This will be very helpful in educating the public on the serious threat carelessly discarded fishing line can have on wildlife, public safety and the natural environment. With this information, the locations of fishing line collection sites will also be available.

UPDATE as of August, 2020

I just received this great news from WDFW. The fishing line recovery and recycling program is now on the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife WDFW website: "Monofilament recovery and recycling program." And, the program might be further expanded in eastern Washington.

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