OCT 12 2021
Ubiwhere leads the creation of a smart solution to support the irradiation of microplastics from the oceans
The WOSUP project, created by Ubiwhere, aims to remove the plastic and its derivatives from the oceans through a software solution that offers vessels specialised in cleaning the oceans a way to locate with precision the plastic waste, identify its size and the most efficient route for its removal.
It is estimated that at least 5 million tonnes of waste are dumped in the oceans every year, most of it due to poor solid waste management in cities. The path is known without proper disposal; the waste ends up in open-air dumps, many of them near bodies of water, which follow their natural way to the sea.
Unlike organic materials, plastic does not decompose and accumulates in nature, mainly in the oceans. Sunlight, saltwater, and waves fragment plastics into ever smaller pieces called microplastics Besides being one of the primary pollutants of the oceans, microplastics also pose high risks to both marine ecosystems and human health.
This is where WOSUP, which stands for Weed Out Single-Use Plastic, takes on the action. This project is led by Ubiwhere under the European funding programme EEA Grants. Its main focus is creating a software platform that will allow, through the collection and processing of satellite images, the detection and identification of the type and size of waste accumulated in the oceans.
The platform will offer information about the entire operation of waste collection, from the prediction of the number of vessels needed to remove all the accumulated waste to the generation of operational reports and optimized route collections. In this way, Ubiwhere will help improve the quality of life of marine species and support the cleaning of the oceans, contributing to the reduction of ocean pollution, aligned once again with the United Nations Sustainable Development Indicators, namely through the goal concerning the protection of marine life.
