The Audi Environmental Foundation, together with the Ferry Porsche Foundation, German cosmetics manufacturer the Babor Beauty Group, and green startup everwave are starting a cleanup mission on the river Danube.

Starting from Earth Day (22 April), the quartet will deploy everwave's garbage collection boat 'CollectiX' on the river. The craft is wquipped with a conveyor belt and intelligent sensors which will gather information about the amount, type, and composition of garbage, which will be used to develop long term solutions and prevention concepts for the region. The boat is expected to spend up to five weeks in Romania collecting plastic and other waste from the Danube and its tributaries.

The river Danube is second-longest river in Europe, stretching from Germany to Romania, where it opens out into the Black Sea. It also is among the most polluted bodies of water on the European continent.

In addition to the five-week cleanup action, the partners are organising various education and information offerings for children as well as cleanup activities on land over the course of the year. Last year, the Audi Environmental Foundation, Babor, and everwave together removed more than 3.2 tons of plastic from the Danube in Serbia.