Hudson River Park

Combining hands-on plastic removal with hands-on public education, turning a 400-acre Estuarine Sanctuary into a living classroom for cleaner water

The Challenge explained

Hudson River Park is responsible for studying and managing the ecological health of 400 acres of Estuarine Sanctuary waters along four miles of Manhattan, a vital yet heavily impacted stretch of the Hudson River in the heart of New York City. The challenge facing the Park’s River Project team was two-fold:

Plastic marine debris was accumulating in hard-to-reach corners of the sanctuary, along the bulkhead and at soft shoreline areas such as the Gansevoort Peninsula, largely originating from the city’s combined sewer system, which releases untreated wastewater into the river during heavy rain. Manual shoreline cleanups were effective but reactive and labour-intensive, unable to reach debris before it broke down.
As a public-facing sanctuary, the Park also needed a way to make its environmental stewardship visible and engaging, giving visitors of all ages a tangible connection to plastic pollution and the science behind cleaning it up.

The solution

2People driving a WasteShark in a body of water, New York in the background — Gulp the Hudson River Park Wasteshark and crew at work

Hudson River Park partnered with RanMarine, introducing the WasteShark Robotics-as-a-Service (RaaS) model as a manually operated “high-tech helper” during shoreline clean-up events. Deployed by Park staff around Gansevoort Peninsula and adjacent piers, the WasteShark glides at the surface to filter out floating debris and plastic, proving ideal for the seasonal, specialised needs of the Estuarine Sanctuary. The RaaS model gave Hudson River Park:

Complementary Clean-up Capability: A nimble, emission-free tool that reaches the corners of the sanctuary volunteers cannot, targeting debris before it breaks down along the shoreline.
Public Engagement and Education: After consulting the community, the WasteShark was renamed “Gulp” by popular vote, turning the ASV into a recognisable ambassador for the Park’s education programme and giving visitors a direct, memorable way to witness environmental stewardship in action.

The results

A public naming campaign renamed the WasteShark “Gulp”, strengthening the Park’s education and awareness programme and giving visitors of all ages the chance to watch a five-foot-long orange ROV consume river trash firsthand.
Up to 500 kg of floating debris and biomass collection capacity per day, targeting the hard-to-reach areas manual cleanups could not cover.
Zero-emission operation, supporting the Park’s environmental goals in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Continued media and public interest, including features in The New Yorker and coverage of the Park’s plastic pollution research, extending the reach of the Park’s awareness efforts beyond the water’s edge.

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Global Impact, Proven Results

From ports to marinas to inland waterways,
our smart fleet delivers measurable impact on water quality, daily!

Ltrs of WASTE

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collected by the WasteShark fleet since 2016

km waterways

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patrolled and cleaned annually across 4 continents

SHARKS

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are deployed globally for managing all waterway types

* That’s 1.65+ million gallons of waste and 24,850+ miles of waterways for our US friends!

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