TIM’s international wholesale provider, Sparkle, has partnered with Oceanic Environmental Cables (OEC), based in Hamburg, to recover and recycle decommissioned subsea telecom cables in the Mediterranean.
The agreement covers the recovery of over 22,000 km of coaxial, fiber-optic, and telegraph cables that have been lying unused on the seabed. This initiative is expected to reduce carbon emissions by more than 35,000 tons through the reuse of materials.
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OEC will retrieve Sparkle‘s out-of-service submarine cables and transport them to their facilities for dismantling. The cables will be sorted, cleaned, and processed into high-quality “regranulates” for industrial use. The company has developed a method that ensures minimal waste, with approximately 1% of materials being discarded.
The service, managed entirely by OEC, includes all necessary logistics, such as shore-end leases, permits, environmental assessments, and cable recovery plans. Additionally, OEC’s fleet of vessels and custom-designed recovery equipment allow it to recover cables from any ocean or sea depth. With a successful track record of over 25,000 km of recovered cables and more than 80,000 km acquired from the Pacific, Atlantic, and Mediterranean regions, OEC is well-equipped to handle such large-scale projects.
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Sparkle’s CEO, Enrico Bagnasco, emphasized the company’s commitment to promoting circular economy practices and reducing environmental impact, explaining that, “The collaboration with OEC represents a concrete step toward a more sustainable future, where resources from the past can be recovered and transformed into opportunities for the present and the future.”
“We are thrilled to partner with Sparkle on this important initiative. By retrieving and recycling these redundant cables, we are not only reducing the congestion and waste on the Mediterranean seabed but also reducing the need for virgin materials in manufacturing. This process significantly lowers carbon emissions and embodies the principles of a circular economy,’’ added OEC CEO, Horst Brockmüller.