Clean rivers - clean seas

Through its efforts, the everwave foundation gGmbH prevents plastic waste from entering the oceans, where it decomposes into microplastics and releases greenhouse gas emissions. Its missions are focused on one of the main transport routes for waste into our oceans: rivers. Special waste collection boats and barriers in the water clean the polluted rivers. When detecting sources of pollution in the water and analysing the waste, everwave not only uses drones and cameras but also artificial intelligence. This ensures that important information for the use of cleaning measures and the recycling process is readily available. The team is part of the Plastic OBS+ project led by the German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence, which is using AI to develop a system for recording and visualising the distribution of plastic waste in the environment worldwide.

For everwave, detecting and collecting waste in bodies of water are just two aspects of a holistic strategy. The company also focuses on recycling and setting up an infrastructure for waste processing in cooperation with local organisations. Another pillar is prevention work: everwave uses the information it collects to support local governments, authorities and environmental organisations in identifying the causes of pollution and implementing countermeasures.