2 Million Kilograms

2 million kilograms of waste. That's the equivalent of 60 million plastic bottles. Laid end to end, they would stretch from Munich to Cambodia and back again.

It all began in 2018 with a vision: cleaner rivers, waterways, and oceans. The founding team was deeply concerned by the immense amount of pollution in our seas and decided to take action. It quickly became clear that rivers are a key part of the problem. Around 80% of marine waste is carried into the oceans by rivers. To break the cycle of pollution, action must start there and prevent waste from ever reaching the sea.

In 2020, everwave reached its first major milestone: recovering its very first kilogram of waste from the Hron River in Slovakia. This was soon followed by the deployment of the first everwave waste collection boat, specially developed in collaboration with a German boat builder for river cleanup operations. Since then, the fleet has continued to grow, along with its impact. Permanent projects were established on the Mekong River in Cambodia and the Chao Phraya River in Thailand. In March 2025, a new project was launched on the Drin River in Albania. Supported by local teams and dedicated Zero Waste Centers, everwave creates long-term, measurable impact in each location.

Today, artificial intelligence plays an important role in these projects by helping to identify and analyze waste more effectively. Drones and other aerial technologies are used to detect waste in waterways, analyze pollution patterns, and better understand how waste moves through river systems.

A lot has happened between collecting that first kilogram of waste and reaching the milestone of 2 million kilograms. But the journey is far from over. everwave continues to work toward its vision: cleaner rivers and less waste in our environment.