From beaches to the water itself, machines are helping to remove plastic, pollutants, and invasive species. We got up close and personal with these trash-eating robots to find out how they work and how they go beyond just cleaning up and fighting pollution.
Beach Cleanup BeBot
We start with the BeBot, an all-electric, solar-powered beach cleaning robot from The Searial Cleaners, which we covered a few years ago. We finally got to see the robot in person thanks to Eco-Clean Solutions, a Nevada-based cleaning company that is using this ingenious machine to clean Lake Tahoe.
This story is part of: CNET ZeroA series documenting the impacts of climate change and looking at what steps are being taken to address the problem.
In a surprising turn of events, Eco-Clean Solutions CEO JB Harris said he first learned about BeBot through a CNET report.
JB Harris demonstrates the BeBot on the beach at Lake Tahoe.
BeBot works like a sand sieve, propelled by tracked treads. As BeBot moves, the sand sieve also sinks a few inches into the sand, scooping up sand. The sand is brought to the sieve, and the sieve shakes, releasing the sand and capturing the debris stored inside. The debris is then emptied and inspected by hand.
“The human power comes back into us and we actually sort the trash and the inorganic debris,” said JT Chevallier, chief strategy officer for Eco-Clean Solutions. “The organic material is redistributed into the sand.”
BeBot is operated by a remote control that looks similar to a video game controller.
PixieDrone skimming across the surface
The PixieDrone is another electric trash-eating machine made by The Searial Cleaners that found operation in Lake Tahoe. This version is remote-controlled like the BeBot, but the company also makes an autonomous version, like a Roomba on the water, that can operate while the boat is anchored at night.
The PixieDrone was originally designed to filter out trash, but with the addition of a hydrocarbon filter, it can also be used to remove contaminants like oil from surfaces. But Eco-Clean Solutions has found another use for it.
We saw a demonstration of the remote-controlled PixieDrone at Lake Tahoe.
“As the climate warms, it creates a really good stew for aquatic invasive weeds,” Chevallier said, calling it “the biggest problem for the overall health of the lake.”
Like the debris collected by BeBot, all items collected by PixieDrone are sorted by humans to ensure the materials are handled appropriately.
Fixed collector
Searial Cleaners also makes a stationary collection device called the Collect’Thor. It attaches to a dock or floating structure, plugs into the standard “shore power system” most docks use for electricity, and collects surface debris 24 hours a day.
“The beauty of Collec’Thor and PixieDrone is that we can install hydrocarbon sponges to capture oil and gasoline and purify water,” says Chevallier.
Collec’Thor acts as a stationary debris filter.
The device can pump 32,000 liters of water per hour and store more than 200 pounds of waste at a time, and Eco-Clean Solutions says it plans to install one in Lake Tahoe as well.
Since Collec’Thor is not mobile like the BeBot and PixieDrone, the waste has to come to it. This can be achieved by placing Collectec’Thor in a place where waste naturally accumulates, or by utilizing the fourth, final, and most unusual product in The Searial Cleaners lineup.
curtain of bubbles
Meet InvisiBubble. This bubble curtain is made of a pipe filled with tiny holes and connected to an air compressor.
When air is blown through the pipe, millions of bubbles are released, causing two types of movement: a gentle upward movement on the rising bubbles, and an outward movement on the surface through which the bubbles break through. These forces combine to allow InvisiBubble to block debris from the target area while also directing it to a collection point, where something like Collectec’Thor or PixieDrone can complete the job and remove it from the environment.
The InvisiBubble acts as a barrier to prevent debris from flowing into the ocean, and also acts as a guide to direct debris to the target collection area.
Pricing and Customers
Collec’Thor costs about $25,000, including shipping and installation. The remote-controlled PixieDrone costs less than $40,000, while the autonomous version is closer to $60,000. The cost of the InvisiBubble varies more depending on the specific project, the number of bubble curtain lines being installed, and similar factors. This can result in a cost anywhere from $50,000 to $150,000.
Gautier Peers, sales and partnerships manager for The Searial Cleaners, says the prices reflect the fact that these machines are still “hand assembled.” Like most companies, Peers expects prices to come down as production operations expand and streamline.
The target audience for these machines are organizations such as non-profits, hotels, and marinas that are interested in keeping our waterways clean.
Tools like BeBot, PixieDrone, Collec’Thor, and InvisiBubble can be used together to help remove trash, pollutants, and invasive species after they arrive. The bigger goal is to prevent trash from ever appearing in this beautiful place in the first place. Searial Cleaners’ technology can also help.
Beyond cleaning
Operating these machines in public spaces could start a conversation with visitors about pollution and the fight against it.
Collecting litter also means collecting data on what types of litter are most common in a given area. By tracing this back to its source, we can use it to inform advocates and policymakers where to focus their efforts most effectively.
That information could be used to pressure waste-producing companies to change their practices or pay to clean up the mess they create.
“In a perfect world, we would have gone out of business,” Chevalier said.
That world seems far away. According to the Minderoo Foundation’s 2023 report on plastics manufacturers, more single-use plastics are being produced than ever before.
“Technology won’t solve the problem,” Pierce says. “Only humans can solve it by changing their consumption habits.”
To see Searial Cleaners’ technology in action, watch the video accompanying this article.