A look back: from the vision to 2 million kilograms of waste
everwave started 5 years ago with the first kilo of waste – today we have reached the 2 million mark. A reason for us to pause and look back.
The vision: clean waters for a better future
The story begins with a vision: clean rivers, waters and oceans. The incredible pollution of the oceans caused by a never-ending flood of plastic prompted the founding team to take action themselves – and set the first milestone. Pacific Garbage Screening is founded in December 2018, so let’s get started!
During the start-up phase, the focus is on research and developing a solution to the problem. Before the problem can really be tackled outside, data must be evaluated, flows analyzed and a sound scientific basis created. It quickly becomes clear to the team that rivers are the cause of the problem. 80% of waste is washed into the oceans by rivers and once in the oceans it is incredibly difficult to get the waste out again and back into a recycling cycle.
In order to close the waste cycle, it is clear to everyone that we need to start with the rivers and prevent waste from ending up in the oceans in the first place. The focus shifts from the oceans to rivers, and with it comes a change of name – the “everwave” brand is born in November 2020.
We are two years on from the initial vision: the everwave brand exists, the plan is in place and the team is motivated – the best conditions! Now it’s time to build the brand and acquire our first partners.
Starting signal for the projects
August 4, 2020: a real milestone! everwave collects the first kilogram of waste from a river. After two years of preparation, the vision can be realized and waste can be actively collected on the Hron in Slovakia. Long-term partners such as Mastercard, Landmarken and Kühne+Nagel are also on board at the start of the first project and have been supporting everwave ever since.
In order to continue collecting waste actively and independently, we need our own boat. But that’s not so easy: the boat will form the heart of the projects and must be specially adapted to the needs of everwave. Together with a German boat builder, a customized boat is being developed – which can also go into action straight away. In 2021, the first own boat will be used in projects in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Romania and Egypt.
In parallel to the projects, everwave is gaining more and more attention and importance in Germany. In October 2021, the young company received the KfW Award Gründen NRW, which honors companies for their successful business ideas every year.
Long-term impact: the path to stationary projects
Initially, the boat was used on a short-term basis, the projects were set up for a maximum of three months and waste was collected at various locations. In order to create a long-term and sustainable impact and strengthen a region in the long term, everwave decided to tackle its first long-term project.
The location was chosen deliberately: one of the longest rivers in Asia has an extreme waste problem. The Mekong, a lifeline for millions of people, also carries an enormous amount of plastic into the oceans. The first long-term project is being set up in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, directly on the Mekong. In addition to the boat, which is used on the river, a local infrastructure and a zero-waste center for separating and passing on the waste is being installed and a local team is being set up on site.
As of now, one boat is permanently in Cambodia – which also means that the boat fleet has to grow for further missions. Two more boats will be added. As the company grows, the business model continues to evolve – because the projects and boats need to be financed in the long term. This is why everwave decides to introduce plastic credits in the fall of 2022. The system: a company buys one Plastic Credit, for which everwave collects one kilo of waste from the rivers. This allows long-term cleanup projects to be securely financed, local infrastructure to be built and jobs to be preserved. The Plastic Credits are directly linked to the waste and the location of the projects, which means that the companies take responsibility and create a direct impact.
And the cleanup projects continue to run successfully – so effectively that over one million kilograms of waste was collected from rivers around the world in August 2023. In order to continue working sustainably, everwave is launching a second long-term project in Bangkok along the Chao Phraya.
2 million kilograms of waste collected worldwide
Currently, the use of AI in the everwave projects is helping to better identify and analyze waste. The PlasticObs+ research project was developed together with the German Research Institute for Artificial Intelligence: drones and other aircraft are used to find and analyze waste in waterways and to understand how it is spread.
Over 140 companies worldwide are now working with everwave – and the focus is now on international growth. For example, everwave was part of the German Accelerator in Singapore and was able to acquire its first customers in Singapore and Hong Kong. Together with the support of its partners, the company is succeeding in consolidating its locations and creating an increasing impact.
Things continue successfully in 2025: a third permanent site is opened on the Drin in northern Albania following a pilot project in summer 2024. And on April 9, the big milestone: the 2 million kilogram mark is broken! Since its foundation, everwave has collected 2 million kilograms of waste, creating over 30 jobs worldwide. To illustrate the quantity: if plastic bottles are lined up in a row, this is equivalent to a line from Munich to Cambodia and back again.
From the first kilograms of waste to the 2 million, a lot has happened. But the journey is far from over! We are continuing to work in line with our vision: for clean rivers and less waste.
