A waterbody waste-collection solution for smart cities

The WasteShark drone is designed purely to collect surface waste, plastics and biomass from various waterbodies, I.e. Ports, Harbours, Marinas, Yacht Clubs, Rivers, Canals, Lakes, Ponds etc. Where many other solutions use fossil-fuel power, this drone has a zero-carbon footprint through the use of battery power.

The WasteShark is an automated water drone, which can either be manually operated or completely autonomously through a pre-determined route section using waypoints for guidance in a specific body of water. The unit has a removable ‘basket’ which collects the debris, that can easily be removed, emptied and then put back and redeployed.

In addition to collecting surface waste and biomass, the WasteSharks can be fitted with sensors which gives the user additional benefits in obtaining real-time data from the respective waterbodies via a 4G data communication portal. It has a capacity of holding some 180-Ltr of rubbish per load, which translates to circa 500kg/day in plastics and biomass, from one daily charge.

A number of features are available on the WasteShark, but whether a customer purchases a standard Unit outright, or Leases a Unit, this cost is recovered over time through the savings in person hours employed to collect the waste, as well as fuel costs – over and above the long-term benefit to the environment. In addition to customers either Buying a unit or Leasing, there are also Sponsorship packages offered for corporates & 3rd party partners.

Currently, the standard and more popular means to remove plastics and rubbish from water bodies is via a manned boat, possibly using a net – it must be noted that this costs time, money and ironically has a impact on the environment still through the use of fossil fuels.