Nuvola di Mare by Matteo Brasili

Matteo Brasili is a designer focused on product and innovation and currently collaborates with Odo Fioravanti studio. In 2020 the designer won the James Dyson Award Italy thanks to the Nuvola di Mare (Cloud of Sea) product, part of the Tre Miglia system. The project aims to solve water pollution by exploiting the habits of the humans who navigate it, through the creation of an innovative circular business-to-business system between industries and fishermen, and introducing a new tool capable of enhancing human capabilities when collecting microplastics present in the sea.

The fishermen usually collect plastic waste at sea and bring it back to the shore. This waste is then divided by type and delivered for recycling. The role of industries will then be to reintroduce this waste into its production, where a percentage of the proceeds obtained from the sales will be paid to fishermen, encouraging waste collection and compensating for the lack of non-recognition for the work done by sailors.

The aim of Tre Miglia is to reshuffle the existing cards, creating new circuits capable of benefiting both industries (fishing and recycling), transforming the cleaning of the sea not only into an environmental act, but also into a job. Nuvola di mare is an innovative easy-to-use tool, adaptable to any type of boat, which encourages and facilitates seafarers interested in the health of the marine world. The product helps the recovery of microplastics that have contaminated the waters of our planet for years: when the boat is in operation Nuvola di Mare is left floating in the water and thanks to the filter system (at first a rotating filter, now double static) it the health of the marine world that will then be recycled once the boat returns to port. When not in use, the product is hooked to the boat.

The system is composed of 4 parts: two external parts that make up the water passage channel and hold the rope, a removable central ring and the rotating internal filters. The shape of the tool is inspired by fishing nets for small organisms such as plankton and fenders. The external surface recalls the texture of the shells which, together with the wing-shaped section of the product, creates frictions with the water, allowing it to flow into the filter.

Nuvola di Mare differs from other systems capable of collecting microplastics for various reasons: first of all, it moves in the sea via a boat, therefore it does not need any other source of energy to move and collect micro-plastics. Secondly, it is an intuitive product and allows for easy transport and sorting of rubbish on the shore. Last but not least, this product can be sold in port areas, where sailors rent it and in return receive discounts at the port, promoting a new type of system for the protection of the sea.

For more information on the project and to contribute to the production of this new system, visit and follow Matteo Brasili on Instagram!