AN OCEAN OF ISSUES: About 10 million tons of plastic reach the sea every year. In some areas of the Mediterranean sea, the plastic concentration is higher than anywhere else (1,25 million plastic fragments per square kilometre vs 335k in the Pacific). This plastic not only kills millions of fish, seabirds and sea mammals but also has a massive impact on the global economy, with estimates ranging from €500 billion and €2.5 trillion per year, polluting both the food we eat and the air we breathe. Academic Research assesses that about 80% of this plastic comes from the inland via rivers.

AN EFFECTIVE SOLUTION: The Blue Barriers are an award-winning system that collects 100% of riverine plastic without impacting river life, navigation or the river landscape, by physically diverting the waste from the main flow towards a collection basin on the riverbank. SEADS BlueBarriers capture microplastics too. They can be applied to any river and are effective also during flooding.

RELIABLE: The SEADS Blue Barriers are covered by a proprietary patent, and have been tested by the University of Florence, in the Tiber and Lamone rivers. An installation is active on the Aniene river since 2022.

SEADS was also recently chosen among The Economist’s top 10 OceanChangeMakers.

CIRCULAR: The Blue Barriers not only protect the marine environment but also significant industries like Tourism, Fisheries and Maritime Transportation. They also help create job opportunities linked to the management and transformation of the collected materials. Early research from the University of Modena shows that having installed the SEADS BlueBarriers enables Public Administrations to cover waste management costs by selling pellets made from wood.

With a limited investment – starting at just €1K – it’s possible to protect the riverine and marine ecosystems while creating local job opportunities.