Wasser 3.0 PE-X®

Company Description. Wasser 3.0 gGmbH. As a non-profit GreenTech company, we are positioned at the interface between science, business, politics, and society. Here, we are breaking new ground to promote responsible research and green inno- vations for water without microplastics and micropollutants. The SDGs are the overall guiding principle of our actions. Wasser 3.0 develops and scales tech- nologies for water without microplastics and micropollutants. With a focus on data-driven technology development, education, and innovation transfer, Wasser 3.0 is where green tech in- novation meets social business.

River Cleanup

Company Description. River Cleanup is a Belgium nonprofit organisation founded in 2019. The idea was born in 2017 when Thomas de Groote was challenged to do a 10-minute cleanup, which changed his life. Our vision: plastic-free rivers. Plastics can be useful, but they do not belong in (y)our food, water, air, and body. River Cleanup is a global network-driven organisation on a mission to clean rivers by empowering people, preventing pollution, and accelerating change. We are a network organisation because we believe in active cooperation. That’s why we are building a global network of action-oriented people working together towards plastic-free rivers. In 2022, we went back to the drawing board with our field experience, the latest scientific insights, and one single question in mind: how do we make rivers plastic-free most effectively and cost-efficiently?

The answer is our Clean River Model. It’s more than a list of ingredients; it’s a recipe for plastic-free rivers. Key achievements in our first five years (2019-2024):

• 6,000+ events in 100 countries along 450+ rivers,
• 285,000 people mobilized for a cleanup,
• 3.5 mln. kg river waste removed from the environment and
• Innovative holistic Theory of Change developed (Clean River Model).

Service Description. The Clean River Model is an open-source Theory of Change for plastic-free rivers. Its logic follows a simple yet effective strategy: early intervention. We first aim to achieve maximum reduction and substitution of single-use plastics. Plastics that are not produced never become plastic waste. Collecting post-consumer plastic waste is the next best step and prevents leakage and pollution of the environment. Cleaning up plastic leakage on land prevents plastic pollution of rivers and increases the options to reuse these plastics in closed-loop circular economy solutions. Finally, cleaning up plastic pollution from rivers is the only solution to prevent it from further polluting nature and the ocean. That’s how we, step by step, turn off the tap on new plastic pollution and clean up existing plastic pollution most effectively and cost-efficiently.

Service Differentiation. Competitors often focus on a single intervention type (e.g., only cleanup events), are tech-only or are less open to sharing/cooperation at a time when we need more co-creation and cooperation.

Here are five factors that, combined, make the Clean River Model unique:

1. Designed for maximum impact & scalability: it’s holistic with strategic early interventions in the plastic lifecycle. We prevent new waste and clean up legacy plastic pollution.
2. Built on science, including Breaking the Plastic Wave, combined with the field experience of removing 3,5 million kg of river (-bound) waste from nature.
3. River-focused: plastics in the environment often end up in rivers. The Clean River Model is fully aimed at preventing plastic from ending up in rivers by reducing plastic use and pollution on land. Cleaning up plastic pollution in rivers is a crucial last step.
4. Practical & concrete: the integrated workflow makes it a hands-on Theory of Change. There is no time to waste.
5. Open-source: by making the Clean River Model and tools publicly available, we aim to empower individuals and organizations globally to have faster impact.

Place, client, and respective year the service was implemented and tested successfully: We are currently developing, implementing, and validating the Clean River Model in three action zones: Indonesia, Belgium, and Cameroon.