Plastic waste in the world’s oceans has been a major problem for a long time and is the focus of public interest. The topic of microplastics in particular is often discussed. Many charitable associations and independent, mostly internationally active, non-profit organizations have set themselves the goal of protecting and preserving water as a living space. They help to rid the world’s oceans and waters of pollution and thus protect rare and endangered animal and plant species. The Aachen startup Everwave is also pursuing these goals. The company uses creative techniques and processes to help remove waste from lakes, rivers and dams. The boats from BERKY are used for this.
Intervention is also necessary because over the years a huge floating accumulation of garbage has formed between Hawaii and California – the so-called “Great Pacific Garbage Patch”. This extends over an estimated 1.6 million km², so it is now about three times the size of France. Private households and industry are primarily responsible for the plastic waste in the seas, whose waste finds its way into the sea via rivers. This happens not only through careless disposal, but also through surface runoff and rain events that wash garbage into adjacent rivers. This is exactly where Everwave wants to intervene and solve the problem at the source with appropriate measures.
With “Collectix” against garbage
One of these measures is the use of the garbage collection boat “Collectix”. This is a weed collection boat manufactured and converted by the BERKY company, which is actually used to collect harmful and invasive aquatic plants. The boat removes the floating rubbish via a conveyor belt that protrudes into the water and collects it on a loading area. In the reverse direction, the garbage can be unloaded from the loading area via the conveyor belt on the bank.
In addition, an analysis of the waste takes place. For this purpose, the collected contents of the “Collectix” boat are recorded by camera. An artificial intelligence recognizes the different types of waste and the stored data is then evaluated. This technology was developed in cooperation with Everwave, BERKY and the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence. It is continuously tested and improved in use.
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