There are several systems to remove the garbage that we throw into our rivers and that ends up in the sea. In the seas we have millions of tons of plastics and miscellaneous garbage that end up affecting our health. And almost all of that garbage comes from the rivers.
The best and most efficient thing is not to throw garbage in our environment, but once it is thrown away, the sooner we pick it up, the better because we do less damage to the environment and it costs less money to clean it up.
There are different methods to remove the garbage that we have in our rivers and they are all quite similar. These are small platforms that move through the water and are capable of collecting garbage, both on the surface and below. The further down the rubbish is, the more difficult it is to remove, as it can remain encrusted at the bottom of the river.
The idea that I am going to comment on today (there are several others) has been called Clearbot and has been developed by some students from Hong Kong, who already have a prototype being tested in the port of Hong Kong to collect much of the plastic that “sails” by its waters
It is a very simple system that has several sensors (including a LIDAR to avoid colliding) and Artificial Intelligence to select the garbage and not affect the fish. It works with an electric motor, and the garbage it collects is deposited in a compartment at the rear of the device.
It seems like a simple and scalable system that can be mass-produced and distributed wherever it is most needed. The simpler things are, the less they break and the easier they are to reproduce.
If we think that almost all the pollution that reaches the seas passes first through the rivers, it is very important to act on them as soon as possible, and especially with systems as simple as the one discussed here.
Hopefully we see devices like this as soon as possible, and starting with the most polluted rivers in the world.
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