On the 29th of May 2026, Venice Lagoon Plastic Free successfully held the sixth edition of its International Workshop on Marine Litter Monitoring, Removal and Blue Circular Economy at the Torre di Porta Nuova, Arsenale, with the invaluable support of Salone Nautico Venezia.
The event, under the EU Mission “Restore our Ocean and Waters”, brought together 65 in-person participants alongside remote attendees, gathering institutions, researchers, businesses, and civil society actors from across Europe around the shared challenge of protecting aquatic ecosystems. A remarkable turnout, given that the event coincided with a nationwide transport strike in Italy.
The day opened with institutional contributions from the European Commission – DG Research & Innovation, who presented the goals of the EU Mission and the financial instruments to achieve them. The European Investment Bank, on the other hand, presented the Clean Ocean Initiative. Three thematic sessions followed, covering marine litter monitoring and assessment, clean-up technologies, and blue circular economy solutions. They provided a stage for exciting work currently underway across Europe and gave visibility to projects funded under Horizon Europe, EMFAF, LIFE, and Interreg IPA ADRION.
The INSPIRE project, under Horizon Europe and supported by VLPF through funding provided by the Veneto Region, offered one compelling example. Its smart anti-pollution pilot on the Po river deploys a hybrid system of a floating barrier, developed by River Cleaning and equipped with AI-based waste detection, to intercept plastic before it reaches the Adriatic. The project was chosen by the Veneto Region as a tangible action of EU Mission’s charter endorsement. The scale of the problem, however, remains severe since the Po alone carries an estimated 145 tonnes of plastic into the sea each year. RanMarine, in turn, offered a glimpse into a future of fully electric autonomous vessels that don’t just collect floating debris but map water quality as they go, building up a living picture of waterway health that researchers and local authorities can actually use.
From the HEUROPE REMEDIES project, Next Technology Tecnotessile presented their work on replacing conventional fishing nets with biodegradable alternatives, a quiet but significant shift, given that lost and abandoned fishing gear is among the most damaging sources of marine plastic. Their bio-based nets, currently being tested in Sardinia and the Cyclades, could cut the carbon footprint of fishing gear by up to 60%. MED-Hubs, co-funded by EMFAF, completed the picture with its vision for accelerating blue economy innovation across the Western Mediterranean, connecting startups and institutions around shared challenges in sustainable fishing, smart ports, and aquaculture.
The venue also hosted the photographic exhibition Plastic Project by Officina Fotografica N°4, whose artistic lens on plastic and daily life prompted reflection among participants well beyond the scientific sessions. It was a fitting backdrop to the Policy Roundtable that followed, ISOTECH, under the SeaClear 2.0 project, on advancing European frameworks to combat marine litter. In the afternoon VLPF and ISOTECH steered a participatory multi-stakeholder workshop, engaging local Venetian actors and institutions in defining priorities for marine litter prevention and mitigation, with outcomes to be shared with the European Commission and the European Parliament.
Among the most anticipated moments of the day was the live demonstration of the SeaClear robotic system in the Arsenale basin, carried out by the Technical University of Munich and SubSeaTech, with the logistic assistance of ST. The demonstration was a success and delivered an unexpected discovery: the SeaCat recovered a seemingly antique piece of wood from the basin floor, which, with the support of VLPF, will undergo carbon-14 dating.
The sixth edition confirmed the workshop’s standing as a dynamic European forum at the intersection of science, innovation, and policy. It reflects the legacy of six years of work by Venice Lagoon Plastic Free, under the inclusive, collaborative spirit of the EU Mission “Restore our Ocean and Waters”.