The Custodians Plastic Race
Acting together against plastic pollution
Uncontrolled plastic pollution threatens not only biodiversity as a whole, but also the health of every human being on the planet. The «The Custodians Plastic Race» project ensures the gradual removal of waste and plastic from nature during organised clean-up events. Meanwhile, its socially inclusive approach to participation fosters responsible waste management. In line with the credo: All Together Now. The underlying concept is that harmony between humans, technology and nature can be restored when every member of society contributes to collective efforts according to their own abilities.
Previous clean-up events
The first clean-up event took place in Venice in 2021. Thus, the race was up and running and soon spread from Italy to other countries, like Germany, Spain, Macedonia and Bulgaria. «The Custodians Plastic Race» is often embedded within the overall framework of sporting events. For example:
- The Ocean Race 2023, Genoa
- Marina Militare Nastro Rosa Tour, 2023 & 2024
- Foiling Week 2023 & 2024
- Eurosaf Formula Kite European Championship 2024, Los Alcázares
- European Athletics Championships 2024, Rome
- European Match Race Tour 2024
Welcome aboard
It takes a lot of networking prior to the clean-up events to generate the widest possible support for them. The greater the participation, the larger the impact. United by the shared objective of environmental protection, institutions, authorities, companies and individuals of all ages come together. An unprecedented level of mobilisation and collective action took place at several events along the Italian coast. Large-scale clean-up operations on land and at sea brought together:
- Navy (Marina Militare)
- Coastguard (Guardia Costiera)
- Financial Police (Guardia di Finanza)
- Civil Defence (Protezione Civile)
- Police (Carabinieri)
- Military (Ministero della Difesa)
- Sport associations
- Schools and universities
- Partner companies
- Non-profit organisations
- Volunteers
App for coordination
The central coordination tool for all clean-up events of «The Custodians Plastic Race» is the «Custodians Earth Solution Platform», in short CESP. The free app enables users to enter exact coordinates and a detailed description of locations where measures need to be taken to solve an environmental problem. Geolocation helps build a global database that maps pollution and supports the clean-up of the discovered areas. The data is used by disaster control authorities and the coastguard to coordinate clean-up operations on land and at sea. CESP makes it possible to prioritise, organise and present the success of the individual measures.
Success measured in tonnes
BioDesign Foundation proudly reports that between 2021 and 2024, around 1,400 participants helped collect over 700 tonnes of waste, ranging from plastic packaging to fishing nets. Investigations carried out during the clean-ups have shown: Plastic bottles, plastic packaging, cigarette butts, cable ties, glass bottles and tyres were the most common sources of pollution.
2025 – the race has started
«The Custodians Plastic Race» mission is set to continue in 2025. Dabei kommt es zum ersten nationalen Clean-Up. Er findet vom 6. bis 12. Oktober in Italien statt. Throughout this week-long clean-up event across Italy, efforts will be united once again to clean up the environment and to demonstrate the power of collective action. The goal is to expand «The Custodians Plastic Race» initiative to every country worldwide, thereby cleaning up the entire planet. All Together Now.
Partnership
Plastic waste is the most visible and tangible form of environmental pollution and reflects modern society's relationship with the environment. A collective effort across society to eliminate plastic pollution in nature therefore holds immense potential. This is the reason why BioDesign Foundation is fully committed to developing practical solutions to the challenges posed by widespread plastic pollution in nature. enespa's technologies are an integral part of these solutions. This has led to a partnership that aims to transform all the recyclable plastics recovered through the BioDesign Foundation's activities back into crude oil. With an increasing number of our pyrolysis plants, we are able to enhance the value of plastic as a resource globally while tackling environmental pollution
Download and try out The Custodians App:
Partner BioDesign
enespa's vision
© enespa 2025
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The road to a circular economy for plastics is a long one. However, we are not travelling this path alone, but together with you. Celebrate with us when we come one step closer to our goal.
Subscribe to newsletter
The road to a circular economy for plastics is a long one. However, we are not travelling this path alone, but together with you. Celebrate with us when we come one step closer to our goal.
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The road to a circular economy for plastics is a long one. However, we are not travelling this path alone, but together with you. Celebrate with us when we come one step closer to our goal.