Allseas joins forces to clean Dutch rivers of plastic waste

Allseas has joined forces with more than 20 organisations to clean rivers and waterways throughout the province of South Holland of plastic waste.

Allseas joins forces to clean Dutch rivers of plastic waste
Photo: Allseas

Earlier this week the parties, spanning government entities, private companies and educational institutions, signed the Community of Practice Plastic (CoPP) declaration of intent, an initiative that aims to boost knowledge of the plastic problem and assess which policy interventions and practical measures work.

The CoPP parties will work together to catch plastic waste in rivers and waterways before they can reach the seas and oceans. The CoPP initially focusses on the Maas and Rhine rivers and their tributaries, with the ultimate goal that South Holland’s rivers and waterways will eventually become plastic-free. Important issues to be addressed are how to properly identify the problems that arise with plastics accumulating in certain areas, how to remove plastics from the waterways and how to process the waste.

At Allseas, a team of dedicated engineers has been developing river waste collection systems and studying retrieved plastics since 2018. Their efforts led to the award of an EU-grant to upscale measuring, collection and analysis activities, and several authorities have commissioned Allseas to build catcher systems for Benelux waterways.

More than 20 parties have joined the CoPP: Allseas, Antea Group, Braveheart Marine, By the Ocean We Unite, Clear Rivers, Deltares, City of Rotterdam, Port of Rotterdam, Heijdra Milieu, Rotterdam University of Applied sciences, Waterboard Delfland, Waterboard Rijnland, MRD Marine Support, Nature and Environment Federation South Holland, Noria Sustainable Innovators, Plastic Soup Foundation, Province of South Holland, Rijkswaterstaat, Tauw, Delft University of Technology, The Great Bubble Barrier, Leiden University and Wageningen University.