Garbage accumulation, particularly plastics, pose a threat to marine habitats. Plastic garbage pollution in oceans was estimated at approximately 165 million tons in 2012 [Plastic pollution article, Wikipedia]. Plastics and microplastics consumed by marine organisms ultimately enter humans through the food chain.

In many cases garbage concentrations in oceans form large patches that at first glance look like islands. Moreover, some of these patches grow rapidly. A large patch located at the northern part of the Pacific Ocean, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, is accumulating plastic garbage at an exponential rate as shown by [Lebreton et al., 2018].The patch covers an area of 1.6 million square kilometers and is comprised of 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic which is estimated to weigh around 80,000 tons [Lebreton et al., 2018].

We propose a system which, with the help of additional ecological regulations established by global organizations, promotes the collaboration of shipping companies and existing garbage collection projects in order to reduce the rate of garbage accumulation in the GPGP as well as improve the logistics of the cleaning process.

The plastic pollution is an environmental hazard that not only arises in oceans but in rivers too. Therefore, a system engaged in the clean up process of rivers is also presented.

For this reason, the solution we propose is implemented in two stages.

The first intervention is in the rivers which is the main source of trash in the ocean.

In this case the solution we propose is to install a tube (in the form of an arm) with an installed grid [we call them 'Jtube' because of their shape as they consist of successive pipes] along the river that will act as a barrier to floating trash as well as trash slightly below the surface. The Jtubes are placed at various accessible points on the banks of the rivers. This prevents 60 percent of the total trash that enters the ocean annually!

Essentially Jtubes consist of many small tubes which are connected to each other by joints. At the bottom of the pipes there is a mesh curtain of 0.5-1.0 m height to hold the trash beneath the river surface. Each Jtube has cameras installed that identify and register the amount of garbage collected (through the use of computer vision algorithms). These are then flagged by the system as ready to be collected by crossing ships.

If there is a sufficient amount of waste within the structure then it closes to the side of the river bank (engine pulling its tip) to allow the waste to flow through the water to a specially formed area (in the form of a groove) in order to be trapped there and immediately removed from this point through the local recycling company.

Because our system will be mounted on floating rivers, special distance sensors have been installed to identify the ships passing through the river in such cases the Jtube will move to the river bank in order not to obstruct the vessels. This system is also used to protect Jtube in emergency situations where natural disasters occur and the river carries very large objects.

The second part of the Seanitize project, concerns the oceans. In this case, the solution we propose is to place floating structures "U" shape in the ocean (which we call them "Utube"). Basically the Utubes consist of a pipe at the bottom of which has a 3 m mesh curtain to hold the trash beneath the sea surface. Each Utube has a full-size mesh (and a few more that are curtained). The Utubes are located near the ocean bunkers where the largest amount of trash are concentrated. The Utubes move in the water with the help of wind and ocean currents. Each Utube has various sensors mounted such as: GPS sensors to detect its location and cameras to identify the amount of waste that has been accumulated inside it. If there is a sufficient amount of waste inside the structure then it closes enough and through a satellite beacon system informs the system that it has been filled. This signal is also transmitted to all shipping vessels within a few miles to inform them that near them there is a filled Utube. One of them will approach the full Utube and through a loading system the trash along with the pouch-like grid placed on the boat. Then the next grid takes the place of the grid that has left and Utube continues to clear the ocean. Also the vessel will leave the trash in the next port for immediate recycling.

It is worth mentioning that every Utube is also equipped with solar panels that store the energy required to communicate with the central system. Also, on the Utube are small propulsion motors to drive it along the way to meet the merchant ship (so that merchant ships do not deviate significantly from their predetermined course).

In that way we collect trash from the oceans without further polluting our planet using freight ships that collect trash cans along the way.

The proposed solution, regarding oceanic debris, boils down to the deployment of cargo ships on commercial routes nearby the location of the patch and the use of garbage collection systems through a unified management platform.