re:Trace™
Plastic with a Passport
Introducing re:Trace™
re:Trace™ is SeaSweepers’ proprietary platform that brings full transparency and verification to the journey of ocean plastics. From recovery to reuse, each piece of material logged through re:Trace™ is scanned, classified, and tracked using AI and blockchain. This creates a verifiable digital passport that proves its origin, transformation, and destination. Whether it was collected from a mangrove or a trap line off the coast, re:Trace™ ensures the story of that plastic is preserved, auditable, and accountable.
We’re currently training our AI model and need your help to make it smarter. To do that, we’re collecting 10,000 photos of ocean and ocean-bound plastics, from bottles to buoys to broken traps and more. By joining our early access list, you’ll be the first to know when the re:Trace™ app goes live. You’ll also be part of building a system that gives every piece of plastic a verified future.
As an early supporter, you’ll get access to exciting features like photo challenges, global competitions, community leaderboards, and even daily haikus on the app’s login screen.
Join us in helping protect the ocean and turn the tide on marine plastic pollution.
Be the first to know!
The re:Trace™ App will be available late 2025
Read More About Why Plastic Needs a Passport
We’re at a tipping point , not just in climate, but in credibility.
Plastic waste is piling up faster than we can track it, and public trust in recycling is eroding just as quickly. We’ve entered the era of greenwashing, where sustainability is more marketing buzzword than measurable truth. Terms like “recycled,” “eco,” and “ocean-bound” are slapped onto packaging with no real data to back them up.
At SeaSweepers, we’re building something more foundational than a cleanup effort. re:Trace isn’t a collection tool , it’s an accountability engine designed to verify the journey of recovered plastics from point of origin to reuse. We’re building a system that tracks the journey of recovered plastics every step of the way, restoring transparency and trust. We call it: Plastic with a Passport
Most of the world’s plastic is a mystery. We don’t know where it was made, where it was used, or what really happens after it’s “recycled.” The lack of transparency has made it easy for companies to cut corners and hard for consumers to make informed choices.
Plastic with a Passport flips that on its head. It’s a simple idea: If we can track plastic from the moment it’s recovered from the ocean to the moment it’s reused , we restore trust in the entire system.
This is exactly what our platform, re:Trace™, does.
re:Trace™ is a mobile-first platform that brings traceability, verification, and accountability to ocean plastic recovery.
Here’s how it works:
Scan: Volunteers and collectors use our mobile app to photograph and log marine plastics as they’re recovered, whether from coastlines, mangroves, fishing gear, or offshore operations.
Classify: Our backend AI model analyzes the image, detects the plastic type, and assigns a category — HDPE, PP, PET, etc. Each item is tagged with GPS coordinates, timestamp, and metadata on condition and material.
Track: That data is then recorded on a blockchain-based ledger, an immutable system that prevents tampering and allows the material to be tracked across its full lifecycle.
The result? A Digital Product Passport (DPP) for every item of recovered plastic , essentially a detailed, verifiable record that travels with the material through its entire journey. A DPP includes data on origin, type, handling, and destination, ensuring that each plastic item can be traced from recovery to reuse with full transparency. We fondly call it Plastic with a Passport.
Why Blockchain? We didn’t add blockchain for hype, we added it for integrity.
Plastic recovery is a messy, decentralized process. Anyone can claim to recycle something, but very few can prove it. By writing every data point, scan, classification, transport, recycling onto a blockchain, we create a tamper-proof record that can be shared across organizations, regulators, and consumers.
More than just a database, it’s a shared truth.
Why AI?
re:Trace uses AI not to replace people, but to amplify the speed and accuracy of plastic identification. Our model continuously improves as more data is collected, helping:
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Standardize how plastics are categorized
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Identify contamination or degradation
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Reduce human error in field collection
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Improve efficiency and accuracy in marine plastic recycling processes
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This means better recycling decisions, faster data feedback, and less reliance on expensive lab testing or slow manual reviews.
Ending Greenwashing with Real Transparency
Right now, a brand can say “made from ocean plastic” and no one can verify it. Certifications are slow, costly, and often based on a chain of unverifiable documents.
re:Trace provides real-time, on-chain proof of:
Where the plastic was recovered
What kind of plastic it is
Where it’s being processed or reused
What it’s being turned into
This isn’t just helpful for consumers , it’s powerful for regulators, brands, investors, and ESG auditors. The data is public, standardized, and immutable.
More Than an App: A Data Ecosystem re:Trace isn’t just a tool — it’s an infrastructure.
We’re building out public dashboards for NGO and government partners, material recovery maps to identify pollution hotspots, APIs for recyclers and manufacturers to verify source material, smart tagging systems to connect recovered plastic to end products (think sunglasses, park benches, or marine-grade lumber).
Eventually, we want any product made from recovered ocean plastic to carry a verifiable history. Think: Plastic provenance, just like fine art or luxury goods.
A Future Aligned with Global Policy The European Union and other regions are moving toward Digital Product Passport requirements for textiles, electronics, and more. re:Trace positions ocean plastics within that same emerging framework.
It’s not just forward-thinking, it’s future-proof.
As sustainability moves from voluntary to regulatory, we want SeaSweepers to be the platform that makes compliance possible for governments, brands, and recovery orgs alike.
For Illustration Purposes Only.
What's Next
We didn’t build re:Trace just to recycle plastic.
We built it to rebuild trust.
We’ll be piloting re:Trace with nonprofit partners across Florida, The Bahamas, and North America, mapping not just plastics, but entirely new supply chains.
Next, we’ll expand our AI capabilities, release an open dashboard, and roll out deeper integration for recycling partners.
We’re also preparing to open the platform to other organizations who want to bring traceability into their own recovery workflows.
This is just the beginning.
Subscribe below to be one of the first to know when re:Trace™ goes live!
Trademark notice: Re:Trace™ is a pending U.S. trademark filed by Naveen Sydney, Founder of SeaSweepers.