Removing plastic from rivers

Working every day at sea, we witness first-hand the devastating impact plastic pollution is having on the world’s oceans and marine life. Plastic pollution is a global problem, and we are committed to the effort to clean our oceans by developing systems to collect waste in rivers and waterways before it flows out to sea.

Collaboration is key

We are collaborating with national and local authorities across the Benelux to develop systems tailored to specific waterways, and have secured funding from the EU under the LIFE programme, the EU’s funding instrument for environmental and climate action. This will enable us to fast-track the design and deployment of our sustainable systems, and the development of tools to predict hotspots in rivers so we can optimise the efficiency of waste collection systems.

Best practice waste management

We are working closely together with our suppliers to reduce non-recyclable waste. For example, we are no longer using Styrofoam chips in our packages for shipment. We aim to avoid to use of paper and plastic cups and single-use plastic bottles in all offices, yards and vessels. Furthermore, we are upgrading the freshwater system on our vessel Pioneering Spirit with variable frequency drives. The system is engineered in such a way that it will be efficient in energy usage.