Together for clean rivers: Audi Environmental Foundation, BABOR and everwave launch cleanup initiative

“Water is the basis of all life and absolutely worth protecting. Clean bodies of water, seas and rivers must be our shared priority,” said Rüdiger Recknagel, Managing Director of the Audi Environmental Foundation. Several million tons of plastic reach our oceans each year, much of it from rivers. A study commissioned by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation warned in 2016 that plastic in the oceans may one day outweigh fish. The green startup everwave from Aachen aims to counter this global challenge and, with the Audi Environmental Foundation and BABOR, has found partners that share this vision. “We come from different industries and can therefore bring a range of expertise to the joint initiative. In sum, we will all benefit – especially nature,” Recknagel said. “Our primary aim, aside from collecting waste, is to make the public aware of the huge scale of the problem and to reach as many people as possible and to inspire them to protect the environment.” The three partners are planning a joint initiative for this year. The partners want to raise awareness about clean water with information campaigns, projects at the sites, and cleanup and plogging events.