With nearly half a billion tonnes of plastics entering European seas every year, technological solutions to identify and remove litter must be coupled with social interventions to prevent and reduce the production and release of litter by citizens.

The new EU-funded SeaClear2.0 initiative will deploy a fleet of AI-powered smart robots to autonomously identify, locate, and collect marine litter on their own. Moreover, the project team will activate and empower local communities through gamified interventions and will work with them to develop policy recommendations.