The Project

In order to combat the dangers posed by improper disposal of monofilament fishing line, the "Stow It-Don't Throw It" Project was created to mobilize youth to create and distribute personal-sized monofilament recycling bins. These personal-sized bins were designed by scientists at Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, FL. They are made out of recycled tennis ball cans.These bins are designed to serve as an intermediate step, for anglers and boaters to safely store their used fishing line until they can later dispose of it in a PVC pipe or indoor recycling bin provided by the Monofilament Recovery and Recycling Program.

                   
     Personal-sized                           Larger recycling bin from 
     recycling bin from the                 the Monofilament Recovery
     "Stow It-Don't Throw                  and Recycling Program.
      It" Project. 

                    The goals of this project are to:

1. Mobilize youth to work in partnership with environmental organizations to assemble personal-sized monofilament recycling bins.
     
  


2. Utilize the youth participants involved to distribute the bins to anglers and boaters at fishing tournaments, boat shows, etc. and allow them to educate the public on the importance of monofilament fishing line recycling.
            
   


3. Carry-out an awareness campaign to educate the public on sustainable fishing practices and empower young people to work together to prevent marine debris.
    
  



Check out the map below to see where youth involved in the "Stow It-Don't Throw It" project have already assembled and distributed personal-sized fishing line recycling bins! In addition to these areas, additional youth organizations and partners continue to become involved in this exciting program!


If you would like to be a part of this effort, visit our Get Involved page for more information! By working together we can protect marine wildlife!