CAPE MAY - The trash from dozens of commercial boats at Lund's Fisheries in Cape May doesn't take long to pile up.

"A lot of these guys will leave nets that they have to dispose of after 3 or 5 years of fishing," says manager Wayne Reichle.

"Normally we would take the nets and put them into a regular dumpster and take them into a landfill."

But the big blue container sitting at Lund’s now is not a regular dumpster, and it is not heading to the landfill.

Instead Covanta Energy is taking the gear, separating the recyclables, and making energy out of the trash.

"It will go into a boiler where it's heated to 2,600 degrees, then it heats water and converts it to stream, turns a turbine and generates electricity," says Christine McCoy, representative for Covanta.

Today participants in the project called "Fishing for Energy" gathered to kick off the first day of the innovative program.

It is a partnership between the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), Covanta Energy Corporation, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Marine Debris Program.

They say it not only reduces landfill use and green house gas emissions, but also looks to keep potentially dangerous old gear out of the sea.

Covanta has put recycling containers in about half a dozen fishing ports nationwide and so far they say everyone sees it as a win–win conservation idea.

"I think over the next few years it's going to be just a really good opportunity for us to improve the ocean and the marine environment," says McCoy.

Reichle says, "If we over–fish, if we pollute the ocean you know our livelihoods are lost."

Since the program began in February it has collected more than 47 tons of marine debris.