The Plastic Origins project

A citizen science programme that uses artificial intelligence to map plastic pollution in rivers and encourage local elected officials to take action.

1,500+

users

64

rivers mapped in Europe

35,000

pieces of litter recorded

30+

contributors

THE PROJECT

An open-source, collaborative platform

NAIA Science co-developed Plastic Origins for the NGO Surfrider Foundation Europe. The platform’s digital components are open source and developed by a team of more than 30 volunteers, freelancers and companies through skills-based sponsorship.

Recording litter on a riverbank with the Plastic Origins app

OUR CONTRIBUTION

AI that detects litter on riverbanks

We contribute to the project by developing and updating the algorithm that detects litter stranded on riverbanks. Detecting litter from a moving camera requires more innovation than standard cases with fixed cameras. And litter comes in a wide variety of shapes and colours.

Our team successfully developed a state-of-the-art model that is reliable, lightweight and high-performing, now available as open source and running on cloud virtual machines. We are currently working on integrating it into a mobile app to remove barriers to its use, reduce costs and limit its environmental impact. This litter detection expertise is also at the heart of Cobra Propreté, our urban cleanliness audit solution.