everwave cleans up the environment: garbage boats are used to prevent waste from entering the oceans. Artificial intelligence assists in the cleanup missions to detect and analyze waste. The collected material is then recycled through environmentally friendly processes and, in addition, the public is made aware of environmental issues. The start-up is organizing holistic cleanup projects already in Balkan Region and South-Eath-Asia and has collected over 820 tons of waste.
The big challenge for everwave was from the beginning, how to finance the cleanup projects. The problem with trash in the environment is that no one feels responsible for it. Yet it can become a valuable resource if it is properly processed.
Who is responsible? In a perfect world, there would be political regulations that could fund the cleanup work. But these do not yet exist, so everwave is now taking responsibility together with the private sector. And this is done with the help of Plastic Credits, a business model that everwave introduced in 2021.
In the presentation, Inga Hilbig talks in detail about the holistic cleanup projects and how the startup gives a value to the collected waste.