Wenzhou City, Zhejiang Province, east China - Recent (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Various of fishing boats at harbor, flags fluttering
2. Various of fishers sewing fishing nets
3. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) fisherman (name not given)(with reporter asking question)(starting with shot 2/ending with shot 4):
"We use at least eight or nine trawl nets for one boat."
(Reporter:"How many years can a fishing net like this be used for?")
"Even the most durable lasts only two years before being discarded."
4. Various of fishers sewing fishing nets
5. Fisherman driving electric tricycle, transporting waste fishing nets to recycling site
6. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) staff member, Blue Cycle Recycling Site:
"Are they PE fishing nets?"
7. Sign reading "PE green fishing net stacking area"
UPSOUND (Chinese) fisherman:
"Yes, just process this whole batch for me."
8. Staff member settling payments with fisherman
9. Fishing net, fish pattern on wall
10. Girl bringing waste water bottles to recycling site
11. Fishing boats at harbor
12. Various of equipment in operation, plastic samples on display
13. Various of piled waste cable
14. Various of plastic parts on production line
15. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Wen Zhengtai, general manager, local new material company (ending with shot 16):
"These are some of the applications of products made out of marine wastes."
16. Various of plastic parts, granules, Wen talking with reporter
17. Various of rulers made of recycled plastic, green signs on packaging
18. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Zhao Wenya, executive director/general manager, local stationery company (starting with shot 17/ending with shot 19):
"For example, when we export to some countries in Europe and America, with the recycling certificates, our clients pay far less tariffs, which helps them save costs. Our orders are visibly growing."
19. Various of rulers, production line in progress
20. Various of girl holding, looking at ruler
21. Aerial shots of coast line, sea
22. Aerial shot of cityscape

Discarded fishing nets and ropes that once polluted China's coastal waters are now being transformed into consumer products through an innovative recycling initiative in east China's Zhejiang Province.

The program, which pays fishermen premium prices for their worn-out gear, demonstrates how environmental protection can align with economic incentives as marine plastics get a new life, becoming products ranging from office furniture to power tools for export markets.

In Wenzhou's Pingyang fishing port, dozens of boats sit docked during the annual fishing moratorium as fishermen mend their worn nets.

"We use at least eight or nine trawl nets for one boat," said a fisherman. "Even the most durable lasts only two years before being discarded."

These discarded nets and ropes, traditionally abandoned at sea, now feed a growing recycling economy along Zhejiang's coast.

At a Blue Cycle Recycling Station, workers sort polyethylene nets from other marine plastics, paying fishermen premium prices for their waste.

"Just disposed of this whole batch for me," a fisherman said as he unloaded his unusable fishing net.

The collected plastic embarks on a remarkable transformation. In the factory of a local new materials company, polypropylene ropes become raw material for office chair armrests, power tool casings, and car cooling fans. A stockpile of marine plastic wastes weighing between 100 and 200 tonnes could only keep the workshop running up to two days, noted Wen Zhengtai, general manager of the company.

There are government subsidies for companies when the recycling costs exceed producing new plastic. The system also thrives through international demand.

"For example, when we export to some countries in Europe and America, with the recycling certificates, our clients pay far less tariffs, which helps them save costs. Our orders are visibly growing," said Zhao Wenya, executive director and general manager of a stationery company.

Each product carries a traceable history from the fisherman who collected it to the factory that processed it - a transparency that makes the entire cycle traceable, sustainable and replicable. As European-bound shipments leave the docks, what was once ocean trash now holds new value in the global circular economy.