The SHARK robot works on the River Thames in London and can pick up 1,100 pounds of trash a day.
A plastic-hungry robotic shark is set to scavenge waste in the Thames as part of an effort to combat water pollution.
WasteShark – the first marine robot, Londonthe river by a storm, with the ability to “eat” up to 1,100 pounds of waste every day, the equivalent of 22,700 plastic bottles.
The electric shark has been released at Canary Wharf where it can travel 5km of water before needing to be recharged.
This happens at a time when plastic waste almost doubled globally since 2000.only with nine percent of that successfully recycledThis is stated in the report of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
But Britvic-owned Aqua Libra, which launches the shark, hopes to combat this by recycling the collected garbage whenever possible.
WasteShark was released in Canary Wharf where it can catch plastic in the water.
A robotic shark can “eat” the equivalent of 22,700 plastic bottles every day in the Thames.
WasteShark Key Features
Length: 61.8 inches
Height: 20.4 inches
Width: 42.9 inches
Weight: 158.7 pounds
Top speed: 1.8 mph
Offline mode: duration 6 hours
Photo: RanMarine invented a robotic shark
Steve Potts, managing director of Britvic Beyond the Bottle, said: “Ensuring that packaging never becomes waste is a core part of our vision and we are excited to bring the brilliant innovative WasteShark technology to London in partnership with the Canary Wharf Group team to help fight against plastic pollution in this revolutionary way.”
By collecting garbage, the shark also collects data on the quality of the water in the London River.
The Thames and some other British rivers are full of waste. warnings issued a little earlier today environmental wastewater pollution.
In 2019 five decades of plastic pollution also flowed into the Thames after a multi-year landfill filled with toxic waste was eroded.
Garbage spilled from an old landfill near East Tilbury in Essex and caused a major “environmental risk”.
While London’s WasteShark will be the first to venture into the waters of the Thames, other similar robotic sharks have already been used elsewhere in the country.
Four years ago, a high-tech aquatic drone was released in the harbor of Ifracombe in Devon for its first UK trial.
It can “swallow” up to 130 pounds of garbage in one trip and 30,000 pounds of waste per year if it works five days a week. according to experts.
The bot is being deployed at a time when rivers across the country are experiencing pollution.
An electric shark can travel 5km of water before needing a recharge (pictured from left to right: Tristan Farmworth, Malcolm McDermott, Richard Hardiman, Simone White, Steve Potts, Darren Kirby)
This follows the success of other sharks of similar design that have been used to collect plastic waste internationally. They have been deployed in countries such as South Africa.
Pictured: RanMarine invented a robotic shark deployed in Ifracombe Harbor in Devon in 2019.
Sharks have also been successfully launched in a number of other countries including South Africa, South Korea and the UAE.
Their creator Richard Hardiman shared that his ultimate goal is to have “millions of WasteSharks” in waters around the world.
He previously said: “I’m not against plastic, it’s a convenient product. But we have a huge mountain of plastic waste ending up in the environment. All about how to recycle plastic even better.
“We can make great progress on this and WasteShark can contribute. My dream is to have millions of WasteSharks active around the world. Not only to collect waste, but also to collect data.”
According to RanMarine, WasteShark models currently range between £22,000 and £31,000, with maintenance costs ranging from £900 to £1,300 a year.
However, the robot at Canary Wharf is the first example of a lease-to-buy option that is offset by a future purchase of WasteShark.
The rental price has not been disclosed.
London-based urban developers, the Canary Wharf Group, are also hoping that WasteShark’s “innovative” technology will bring about a change in London’s hazardous waste pattern.
Sophie Goddard, Director of Sustainability at Canary Wharf Group, said: “At Canary Wharf Group, we strive to transform urban spaces into extraordinary environments that work for both nature and people.
“As part of this, we are very excited to launch WasteShark in partnership with Aqua Libra. This innovative marine technology will help us manage waste and save the environment.”
Eight million tons of plastic end up in the ocean every year
Of the 30 billion plastic bottles used annually by UK households, only 57 percent are currently recycled.
Half of them go to landfill, and half of all plastic bottles that are recycled are thrown away.
Approximately 700,000 plastic bottles a day become garbage.
This is largely due to the plastic wrapping of the bottles, which are not recyclable.
Bottles are one of the main sources of the growing amount of plastic waste in the oceans.
The researchers have warned that eight million tons of plastic are now being dumped into the ocean each year, the equivalent of loading one truck every minute.
According to a report published in 2016, by 2050 the amount of plastic waste in the oceans will exceed the amount of fish if the world does not take drastic measures for further processing.
At current rates, this will degrade to four trucks per minute in 2050 and surpass local life to become the largest mass inhabiting the oceans.
According to a report by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, the vast majority of 95 percent of £65 billion to £92 billion worth of plastic packaging is lost to the economy after a single use.
Research estimates that there are more than 150 million tons of plastic in the ocean today.
Plastic pollution is destroying the world’s ecosystems, both marine and terrestrial. It litters coastlines, traps animals, and suffocates entire animal populations.
Scientists warn that so much plastic is dumped into the sea every year that there are five carry bags for every foot of coastline on the planet.
More than half of the plastic waste that ends up in the oceans comes from just five countries: China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Sri Lanka.
The only industrialized western country on the list of the top 20 plastic polluters is the United States, which ranked #1. 20
The researchers argue that the US and Europe are handling their collected waste properly, which is why plastic trash coming from these countries is associated with trash.
While China is responsible for 2.4 million tons of plastic entering the ocean, nearly 28 percent of the global total, the United States contributes just 77,000 tons, less than one percent, according to a study published in the journal Science. .