Remote controlled robots and waterborne drones are coming to Northeast Wisconsin beaches and waterways this year to clean up trash and collect data.
Meijer, a retailer headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with stores in Wisconsin, donated $1.5 million to expand a partnership with the Council of the Great Lakes Region that began last year.
The council has collaborated with higher education programs including the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh to use remote-controlled robots and waterborne drones to pick up trash on beaches and in waterways.
The donation will allow BeBots and Pixie Drones to be deployed 18 new locations along Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin lakeshores as part of the council’s Great Lakes Plastic Cleanup Program.
UW-Oshkosh will be involved with deployments at the following locations:
- Red Arrow Park, Manitowoc
- Neshotah Park, Two Rivers
- Blue Rail Marina Beach, Manitowoc
- Murphy Park, Egg Harbor
- Baileys Harbor Ridges, Baileys Harbor
- Manitowoc Marina, Manitowoc
- Algoma Marina, Algoma
- Sturgeon Bay, Sturgeon Bay
- Ahnapee River, Algoma
- Kewaunee River Mouth, Kewaunee
“The work we are doing will not only protect the health of these vital waters for generations to come, the data collected will help us drive change when it comes to recycling and building a future without consumer waste.” said Mark Fisher, CGLR President & CEO.
Each project will collect, sort, weigh and itemize waste materials.
“It’s a privilege to live near the Great Lakes, and it’s one we don’t take for granted, which is why we’re continuing to take steps to protect them,” said Erik Petrovskis, director of environmental compliance and sustainability at Meijer.
The retailer kickstarted its participation in the council’s cleanup program last year with a $1 million donation and to support the pilot testing of the BeBot and Pixie Drone at Pere Marquette Beach and a nearby marina in Muskegon, Michigan by the Annis Water Resources Institute at Grand Valley State University. The efforts collected 6,130 items, including thousands of plastic fragments, cigarette butts, foam pieces and plastic fibers.
The BeBot is a remote-controlled electric beach cleaning robot that mechanically sifts sand, rakes seaweed and levels sandy areas to remove plastic waste and other debris. It cleans 32,000 square feet per hour and collects plastic litter, bottles, cans, food wrappers, and cigarette butts in a basket for disposal and recycling.
The Pixie Drone is a remote-controlled water drone that navigates waterways to collect waste – organic, plastic, glass, metal, paper and rubber – and other water data, such as temperature, pH, salinity, turbidity and dissolved oxygen. It can collect up to 200 pounds of material per use and can be operated in salt, fresh and brackish waters.
