It is a story that began with a sea kayaking instructor in Copenhagen who began to pick up plastic from the water as he paddled the canals with his groups. Then he noticed that the next day, there was trash in the same places. It was clear that he needed more help.

So he launched the first free-of-charge GreenKayak in April 2017, and it was a hit. During the first two seasons, about 3,000 volunteers collected 10 tons of primarily plastic waste from Copenhagen’s canals and at various beach cleanups.