Florence, 5 November 2024 - Blue Eco Line, in collaboration with Plastic Free and with the participation of the Veneto Region, announces the publication of the final report of the “River Eye” river plastic waste monitoring project.
The monitoring, which lasted over a year on the Piave, Bacchiglione and Canal Bianco rivers, detected and analysed the accumulation of macroplastics carried by the waterways towards the Adriatic Sea. Thanks to River Eye technology, an advanced system of cameras and artificial intelligence algorithms, the project made it possible to identify the main critical points and the most common types of waste, such as bottles, rigid containers and agricultural polystyrene. The data analysis reveals a significant correlation between seasonal rainfall and the intensity of macroplastic transport, with peaks recorded in spring and autumn. “The monitoring highlighted the seriousness of plastic waste transport in our rivers and its impact on the marine environment,” says the Blue Eco Line team. “These results form an important basis for adopting preventive measures and for planning interception strategies along the waterways.” Thanks to this important case history, the startup hopes this experience can serve as a model for establishing a permanent monitoring network at national scale, essential to preserve the health of Italy's rivers and marine ecosystems.