Resurrection Fest and Universal Plastic record international waste in Galicia.
Universal Plastic · 2026
Resurrection Fest attendees identify waste from seven countries and plastics more than 40 years old on the Galician coast
The citizen science campaign promoted by Universal Plastic records its first results and turns every beach clean-up into information to investigate marine plastic pollution.
Viveiro, July 2026.– The first results of this initiative, promoted by Universal Plastic together with Resurrection Fest Estrella Galicia, show how attendee participation is generating useful information to better understand marine plastic pollution.
During the first days of the festival, participants completed three clean-ups on the beaches of Covas, Esteiro (Xove), and Area Longa. Waste from Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Turkey, France, China, and Spain was identified, along with materials linked to more than seven industrial sectors and packaging manufactured more than 40 years ago.
These first findings reveal that the Galician coast still carries the footprint of decades of human activity and of marine currents capable of transporting waste thousands of kilometres from its place of origin.
”“Each item of waste stops being just an abandoned object when we document it. It becomes a source of information that helps us reconstruct how marine plastic pollution travels and evolves,”
Álvaro Bravo Hernández, CEO y cofundador de Universal Plastic.
More than 30 kg of waste were removed from Area Longa beach. Beyond the clean-up itself, each item collected provides information to help build a knowledge base on marine plastic pollution.
Each beach tells a different story
The data shows different patterns in each location.
On Covas beach, there is a high concentration of microplastics, a type of pollution that is difficult to identify with the naked eye due to its size of less than 5 millimetres, and which is key to assessing the environmental condition of the coastline.
In Esteiro (Xove), remains of fishing gear and waste transported by rivers predominate, showing that even well-preserved beaches receive pollution on a continuous basis.
The clean-up carried out in Area Longa made it possible to remove more than 30 kilograms of plastic waste and identify materials linked to more than seven industrial sectors. Among the findings were packaging from widely known brands and a Central Lechera Asturiana bottle manufactured between the 1970s and 1980s, an example of the extraordinary persistence of plastic in the marine environment.
Much more than a beach clean-up
Each clean-up follows a registration protocol that documents the location, type of waste, materials, possible origin, and other data of scientific interest through Universal Plastic’s mobile app.
All the information becomes part of the Marine Plastic Pollution Data Space,developed by Universal Plastic and supported by Spain’s Ministry for Digital Transformation and Public Administration. This infrastructure integrates information into a single interoperable knowledge base that facilitates data analysis and exchange.
A legacy that continues after the festival
The campaign will remain active for the next twelve months, inviting attendees, local residents, and organisations to continue registering beach clean-ups through the technology provided by the company.
”“Each new clean-up expands this knowledge base. We will have a much more precise picture of how plastic pollution is evolving on the Galician coast and more information to guide research and decision-making”
Álvaro Bravo, CEO of Universal Plastic.
Citizen participation will keep this knowledge alive beyond the festival and contribute to improving the monitoring of marine plastic pollution.
The campaign also reaches the media
The initiative has also been featured by media outlets and external channels, extending the campaign’s reach and highlighting the value of citizen science applied to marine plastic pollution.
