Monaco’s Department of Urban Planning has just installed a new macro and micro waste retention net in a storm runoff spillway in the Port of Fontvieille in an effort to prevent solid pollutants from making their way into the sea.

Retention nets are an innovative and effective way to prevent certain discarded items from reaching the sea. Now, Monaco has employed the use of one in the Port of Fontvieille in order to trap solid waste coming from the urban sewage system, which can occur notably during major rainfalls and storm events.

The net is a mutli-wall snare equipped with mesh capable of filtering even smaller waste items.

“It is mainly plastic, aluminium, cigarette butts and polystyrene fragments,” explains Laurent Tallarida, Territorial Technician in charge of the Sanitation Section of the Department of Urban Planning (DAU). “In the end, the result of this sorting will not be very impressive in weight since it is primarily small waste. But these are all elements that will not end up in the natural environment.”

The retention net was set up in collaboration with the Pollustock, a French company specialising in innovative solutions to reduce pollution in the aquatic environment and Trasomar Monaco, a Monegasque company specialising in maritime and submarine works as well as the construction of maritime geotextile works.

This waste trapping technique is a first for the Principality and the Fontvieille site is a test run for other planned sites.

The Sanitation Department will carry out regular maintenance and cleaning of the nets.

Photo source: Direction de l’Aménagement Urbain/DAU