In an Australian first, the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE) has launched an autonomous ‘shark’ to clean up litter from waters near Sydney’s Cockle Bay Wharf.
Minister for Public Spaces, Rob Stokes said DPIE’s WasteShark, a 1.5 metre aquadrone, would feast on a diet of plastics, metal and floating debris.
“The WasteShark can devour up to 160kgs in one sitting – including plastics, vegetation, floating debris, chemicals, marine fuels and oils that shouldn’t be in our waterways,” Mr Stokes said.
“Along with cleaning our waters, the WasteShark will collect and store valuable data on water quality,” he said.
Mr Stokes said the WaterShark was an environmentally-friendly solution to cleaning the State’s waterways, was battery-powered and emitted zero emissions.
Chief Executive of DPIE’s Placemaking NSW, Anita Mitchell said the WasteShark was developed in the Netherlands and began its work in Sydney last week (11 June).
“Swimming through enclosed waters autonomously or under remote control, it can remove rubbish while scanning and monitoring the health of the marine environment, sending data on water conditions back to a central command via the cloud,” Ms Mitchell said.
“It gathers air and water quality data, filters chemicals such as oil, arsenic, and heavy metals and scans the seabed to read its depth and contours,” she said.
