AI ocean cleanup technology is becoming a critical tool in scaling efforts to remove plastic from the world’s oceans. In a move that blends environmental urgency with technical muscle, The Ocean Cleanup has partnered with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to expand its ability to detect, track and remove marine plastic at scale.
The Ocean Cleanup, the Dutch non-profit that’s already removed over 64 million pounds of plastic globally, is now integrating AWS’s machine learning, IoT, and cloud services into its operations. The collaboration focuses on two fronts: first, building new systems to detect plastic concentrations across the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP), and second, using AI to automate marine life detection and reduce the need for human observers.
The idea is simple. Satellite and drone imagery, combined with sensor-laden buoys and edge computing, will feed data into AWS’s high-performance computing platform. From there, models will predict where debris is headed and help direct ships to the most plastic-dense areas. This approach shifts The Ocean Cleanup from reactive to predictive, reducing the time, cost and carbon footprint of each cleanup run.
AWS’s cloud tools will also support marine ecosystem protection by automating how The Ocean Cleanup identifies the presence of wildlife. That task currently falls to human Protected Species Observers, who monitor operations 24/7. Automating this process means fewer people on deck and more budget allocated to plastic extraction.
Boyan Slat, founder and CEO of The Ocean Cleanup, sees this as an inflection point. “With AWS’s technology, we can then better locate plastic hotspots, optimise our cleanup operations, and ensure we’re protecting marine ecosystems,” he said.
“Plastic pollution represents one of the most pressing environmental challenges of our time, and The Ocean Cleanup’s mission is vital for the health of our planet,” said Dr. Werner Vogels, Chief Technology Officer and Vice President of Amazon.com. “This collaboration demonstrates how advanced cloud computing and AI can serve as powerful tools for environmental stewardship, not only transforming oceanic data into actionable insights but also creating a blueprint for how technology can address critical environmental challenges across the globe.”
The technology stack isn’t just experimental. It’s designed to be deployed and refined in real time, with AWS integrating open data sources alongside The Ocean Cleanup’s own models. The result is an end-to-end infrastructure for plastic detection and removal that’s not only smarter but increasingly autonomous.
This move also sets the stage for broader applications. If this model works across the Pacific, it’s likely to be adapted for rivers, coastlines and even regional waste monitoring efforts. Governments and NGOs will be watching closely.
For South African audiences, this matters too. Our coastal waters face growing microplastic contamination, and while The Ocean Cleanup’s direct footprint isn’t local yet, the underlying technology could easily be repurposed here. The infrastructure to support such deployments already exists in AWS’s Cape Town region.
The partnership sets a clear benchmark: AI ocean cleanup technology is no longer theoretical. It’s operational, and it’s scaling fast.