Genoa entrusts the cleaning of its port to a “plastic eater”

The innovative device will work together with a waste hunter drone to ensure that the blue areas of the city stay pristine

This week the City of Genoa will serve as the demonstration platform for new sea cleaning technology in the framework of the “A sea of ideas for our waters 2022” (Un mare di idee per le nostre acque 2022) campaign by retailer Coop. The innovative devices in question are a type of a ‘waste vacuum cleaner’ (aspirarifiuti) called Trash Collec’Thor and the Pixie Drone which scouts out garbage on the surface of the water.

The two devices are making their debut in Italy, and the port of Genoa is the first place where they will be demonstrated in that country. The demonstration took place at the Marina Genova pier in Sestri Ponente.

77% of trash in the Italian seas is plastic

The Trash Collec'Thor is a new static "plastic eating" device that captures different types of floating waste such as plastic bottles, bags, cigarette butts, but also hydrocarbons and microplastics up to 3 mm in diameter. Active 7 days a week, its name also contains that of the Nordic god of thunder, because the capacity reaches up to 100 kg (a winch facilitates lifting it once it is full).

The Pixie Drone, on the other hand, and despite its name is also a water-surface tool that, while navigating, explores small areas of the sea or a lake, hunting for plastic waste that floats away from the accumulation points of the jetties. Remote controlled from a distance of 500 meters, it can collect up to 60 kg of waste: from plastic to organic waste, from glass to paper, to fabrics.

A team of divers also went under at the port to clean up the sea bottom manually, showing that man’s intervention is still needed in certain areas. According to a study conducted by Ispra researchers, more than 70% of waste in the sea sinks to the Italian seabed and 77% is of plastic origin.