Pollution in the marine environment is a global problem with severe consequences on marine and terrestrial ecosystems and to human health. It is estimated that every year, eight million tonnes of debris find their way into the world's oceans, mostly consisted of valuable materials which by following land-based routes are finally finding their way into the sea, instead of being recycled and reused, thus disrupting the Circular Economy value circle. Especially in the case of shorelines, which are in the spotlight of the research presented in this paper, fifty to eighty percent of the rejected debris is made of plastic. The research presented in this paper prescribes an innovative technology solution with the potential of mitigating the severity of the marine littering problem. The proposed solution utilizes the combined power of two emerging Industry 4.0 technologies, i.e. UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) and Sensor technology. These two technologies are integrated in a proposed technology system capable of data collection, analysis and presentation through a cloud based platform of software services available to all system users and stakeholders. Furthermore, the proposed solution will provide tools for facilitating and triggering the pro-active role of responsible citizens, while creating a societal consensus through a user friendly and gamified citizens' awareness platform.