The Project

Mankind has already produced 8.3 billion tons of plastic. Only 9% of this is recycled. A large proportion of this plastic ends up in nature, including in rivers, where macroplastics are broken down into microplastics by the sun, water and currents. The Elbe is just one example of a river on whose banks millions of people live. Many are unaware of how their behavior affects sensitive ecosystems far away. Ocean currents in the North Sea carry plastic waste thousands of kilometers into the Arctic Ocean to the Lofoten Islands.

Every year, millions of tons of plastic enter the oceans via the rivers and, depending on their density, sink and are ground into microplastics. Now we’re talking about lost plastic – we won’t find it again.

The Pure Elbe project addresses this problem. The extreme swim generates a great deal of media attention. Prof Fath will swim the 1080 km of the Elbe in approx. 23 daily stages of 46 kilometers each.

Our campaign for a plastic-free environment includes information events, paddling and swimming activities, discussion rounds, lectures and clean-up campaigns on the riverbanks. Our interactive educational program enables young people to learn in a playful way what we can do about the flood of plastic and why it is so urgently necessary to take action to protect nature and wildlife.

Partners of the events include the Elbe Parks, an international association of protected areas along the Elbe, local NGOs, environmental protection associations, as well as cities, municipalities and supporting companies.

Prof. Fath and students from Furtwangen University take water samples that are analyzed for microplastics and other pollutants. We share the results on the project website.

A documentary film will be made about the project, which we will show in various cinemas in the fourth quarter of 2024. Accompanied by discussions and lectures, we organize film events that use impressive images and stories of the adventure to emotionally convey and perpetuate our concerns.

Andreas Fath

Andreas Fath is Professor of Chemistry at Furtwangen University. In the context of his research on microplastics, he has published numerous articles in specialist journals and textbooks. Through his athletic performance and practical knowledge transfer, he has already aroused enthusiasm for the topic of water protection in other projects as a “swimming professor”.

BPN and H2Org

The project is realized by ‘Bündnis plastikfreie Natur’, an association based in Freiburg im Breisgau, which is committed to a plastic-free and living nature. H2Org, an environmental education organization supports the project.

Furtwangen University

Furtwangen University supports the project organizationally with a mobile laboratory, students and a phd candidate.