AI-Powered Beach Cleanups: A Scientific Alliance Between Universal Plastic and Innoceana
On a quiet beach in Tenerife, a group scans the shoreline, collecting scattered fragments of plastic. Further north, on the coast of Barcelona, the same scene repeats. But these aren’t just cleanups — they’re part of a scientific investigation.
Every item collected is registered through the Universal Plastic app, turning fieldwork into high-quality marine plastic data. It’s the start of a new collaboration between Innoceana and Universal Plastic, where AI-powered beach cleanups merge marine regeneration with cutting-edge technology.
”“This is more than a partnership — it’s scientific collaboration in motion. Innoceana’s data feeds directly into the systems we’re building to trace and classify marine plastic. We’re not just cleaning beaches; we’re training the intelligence that can track ocean impact at scale.”
— Britt Trago, Chief Impact Officer, Universal Plastic
A Ground-Level Alliance With Digital Reach
Innoceana is using the Universal Plastic app to register the plastic they collect during land-based cleanups in the Canary Islands and mainland Spain. The data — including types, weight, and location of the waste — is structured, verified, and fed into an evolving AI system. This system is being trained to improve plastic classification and traceability models — a key step in scaling marine plastic monitoring.
Universal Plastic provides ongoing technical support, ensures the secure integration of the data, and generates annual reports to validate the impact. It is a collaboration grounded in a shared scientific mission and mutual commitment.
What This AI Beach Cleanup Means
By combining digital tools with frontline data collection, both teams are contributing to a smarter understanding of plastic pollution. This approach strengthens environmental monitoring, provides verifiable proof of action, and makes it easier for institutions and companies to understand where — and how — to focus resources.
It’s not just cleanup. It’s knowledge-building.
About Universal Plastic
Universal Plastic® transforms beach cleanups into ONDAs — Ocean Notarised Digital Assets — used by businesses and governments to support ocean regeneration with traceable data.
About Innoceana
Innoceana is a nonprofit marine conservation organization working across Spain and beyond. Their mission combines education, science, and direct action to restore marine ecosystems and empower local communities.
