Our latest newsletter featured this team project that helps save birds and marine mammals as well as reduce the trash in our bays and oceans. It’s easy and you can do this anytime of year. Below are the instructions on how to build a Fishing Line Recycling Bin that the Audubon Society will install at fishing areas around the S.F. Bay.

California Lost Fishing Gear Recovery Project: Monofilament Recycling Program

Bin Construction and Installation Instructions

Construction The monofilament recycling outdoor bin is made of 6” or 4” PVC pipe and fittings that can be purchased at just about any hardware store or plumbing supply house.  There are different grades of PVC and different colors.  We will use white pipe for this project.  Schedule 40 PVC is more expensive than 3034 (sewer grade) PVC; either grade is  Materials needed to construct one (1) bin:

• Two feet (2’) of 6” PVC pipe
• One (1) 6” elbow
• One (1) 6” female threaded adapter
• One (1) 6” threaded male plug
• Hacksaw (or have hardware store cut the pipe for you)
• Power drill with 1/4″ or 3/8″ drill bit
• Sandpaper
• PVC Glue

Assembly:

• If the hardware store wasn’t able to cut your  PVC pipe for you: use a hacksaw. Use sandpaper to remove PVC “burrs” around edges.
• Working in a well-aerated area and wearing protective gloves, apply PVC glue to the inside (non-threaded part) of the female adapter. With adapter sitting squarely on the ground, press the pipe down into the adapter until snug.  Note that PVC glue works by dissolving the PVC, then sets rapidly, so you don’t have a lot of “play” time with it.
• Apply PVC glue to the inside of one end of the elbow (it does not matter which end). Press the elbow onto the pipe.  Try and make sure that any blemishes on the pipe end up on the backside of the bin.
• Drill 2 holes (about 1/4”or 3/8”) in the center of the threaded male plug (this allows the bin to drain. Thread plug into adapter (hand-tight, and be careful not to cross-thread).

Important Contact Information-  The bins will be labeled and  installed by the SeaDoc Society. You should contact the Golden Gate Audubon before you start this project. This will allow them and you to determine the number of bins –and how they will get them from you.

Noreen Weeden
Golden Gate Audubon
510-301-0570 cell phone

www.goldengateaudubon.org