Our planet is drowning in plastic pollution it’s time for change!
Last reviewed
November 2021
Over 300 million tons of plastic are produced every year for use in a wide variety of applications.
At least 14 million tons of plastic end up in the ocean every year, and plastic makes up 80% of all marine debris found from surface waters to deep-sea sediments.
Marine species ingest or are entangled by plastic debris, which causes severe injuries and death.
Plastic pollution threatens food safety and quality, human health, coastal tourism, and contributes to climate change.
There is an urgent need to explore new and existing legally binding agreements to address marine plastic pollution.
Plastic is a synthetic organic polymer made from petroleum with properties ideally suited for a wide variety of applications including: packaging, building and construction, household and sports equipment, vehicles, electronics and agriculture. Over 300 million tons of plastic are produced every year, half of which is used to create single-use items such as shopping bags, cups and straws. If discarded improperly, plastic waste can harm the environment and biodiversity.
At least 14 million tons of plastic end up in the ocean every year. Plastic debris is currently the most abundant type of litter in the ocean, making up 80% of all marine debrisfound from surface waters to deep-sea sediments. Plastic is found on the shorelines of every continent, with more plastic waste found near popular tourist destinations and densely populated areas.
A scientific research mission supported by UNESCO has discovered one of the largest coral reefs in the world off the coast of Tahiti. The pristine condition of, and extensive area covered by, the rose-shaped corals make this a highly valuable discovery.
” To date, we know the surface of the moon better than the deep ocean. Only 20% of the entire seabed has been mapped. This remarkable discovery in Tahiti demonstrates the incredible work of scientists who, with the support of UNESCO, further the extent of our knowledge about what lies beneath. ” Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO Director-General
Highly unusual discovery
The reef is located at depths of between 30 and 65 metres. It is approximately 3km in length and between 30m and 60/65m wide, which makes it one of the most extensive healthy coral reefs on record. The giant rose-shaped corals are up to 2 metres in diameter.
This is highly unusual because, up to now, the vast majority of the world’s known coral reefs sit at depths of up to 25m. So this discovery suggests that there are many more large reefs out there, at depths of more than 30 metres, in what is known as the ocean’s ‘twilight zone’, which we simply do not know about.
” It was magical to witness giant, beautiful rose corals which stretch for as far as the eye can see. It was like a work of art.” Alexis Rosenfeld, French photographer and founder of the 1 Ocean campaign
A step forward for science
This expedition is part of UNESCO’s global approach to mapping the ocean. Coral reefs are an important food source for other organisms so locating them can aid research around biodiversity. The organisms that live on reefs can be important for medicinal research and reefs can also provide protection from coastal erosion and even tsunamis.
“French Polynesia suffered a significant bleaching event back in 2019 however this reef does not appear to have been significantly affected. The discovery of this reef in such a pristine condition is good news and can inspire future conservation. We think that deeper reefs may be better protected from global warming.” Dr. Laetitia Hedouin, France’s National Centre of Scientific Research (CNRS)
Our planet is drowning in plastic pollution it’s time for change!
While plastic has many valuable uses, we have become addicted to single-use or disposable plastic — with severe environmental consequences.
Around the world, one million plastic drinking bottles are purchased every minute, while 5 trillion single-use plastic bags are used worldwide every year. In total, half of all plastic produced is designed to be used only once — and then thrown away. Plastic waste is now so ubiquitous in the natural environment that scientists have even suggested it could serve as a geological indicator of the Anthropocene era.
Plastics including microplastics are now ubiquitous in our natural environment. They are becoming part of the Earth’s fossil record and a marker of the Anthropocene, our current geological era. They have even given their name to a new marine microbial habitat called the “plastisphere”.
So how did we get here?
From the 1950s to the 1970s, only a small amount of plastic was produced, and as a result, plastic waste was relatively manageable.
However between the 1970s and the 1990s, plastic waste generation more than tripled, reflecting a similar rise in plastic production.
In the early 2000s, the amount of plastic waste we generated rose more in a single decade than it had in the previous 40 years.
Today, we produce about 400 million tonnes of plastic waste every year.
We are seeing other worrying trends. Since the 1970s, the rate of plastic production has grown faster than that of any other material. If historic growth trends continue, global production of primary plastic is forecasted to reach 1,100 million tonnes by 2050. We have also seen a worrying shift towards single-use plastic products, items that are meant to be thrown away after a single short use.
Approximately 36 per cent of all plastics produced are used in packaging, including single-use plastic products for food and beverage containers, approximately 85 per cent of which ends up in landfills or as unregulated waste.
Additionally, some 98 per cent of single-use plastic products are produced from fossil fuel, or “virgin” feedstock. The level of greenhouse gas emissions associated with the production, use and disposal of conventional fossil fuel-based plastics is forecast to grow to 19 per cent of the global carbon budget by 2040.
Meet Mr Trash Wheel – and the other new devices that eat river plastic
Mr Trash Wheel scooping up debris in Baltimore harbour. More than 17 tonnes have been collected in a day. Photograph: Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images
From ‘bubble barriers’ to floating drones, a host of new projects aim to stop plastic pollution before it ever reaches the ocean
The technology, created by a Dutch firm and already being used in Amsterdam, is being trialled in the Douro River in Porto, Portugal, as part of the EU-supported Maelstrom (marine litter sustainable removal and management) project.
It is the latest in a series of new technologies designed to find sustainable ways to remove and treat river debris before it reaches the sea.
Plastic can be spread by natural disasters, such as a tsunami, which can push invasive species and debris halfway across the world. But rivers carry a much more regular supply of plastic to the oceans. Research in 2017 found that 10 river systems transport 90% of all the plastic that ends up in the world’s oceans (two in Africa – the Nile and Niger – with the other eight in Asia: the Ganges, Indus, Yellow, Yangtze, Haihe, Pearl, Mekong and Amur).
A man paddles along the Citarum River in West Java, Indonesia, one of the word’s most polluted rivers. In 2018, it was estimated that 20,000 tonnes of rubbish and 350,000 tonnes of wastewater were dumped in it every day. Photograph: Andrea Carrubba/The Guardian
Molly Morse, a scientist at UC Santa Barbara’s Benioff Ocean Initiative and lead on its global Clean Currents Coalition, says: “In some cases, communities don’t have access to proper waste pickup services and must turn to what might seem to be the only alternative: dump the trash directly in the river to be carried away.
“In other cases, plastic litter on land is moved by rain or wind into a river, where […] the plastic may make its way to the ocean.”
An estimated 0.8m to 2.7m tonnes of plastic are carried by rivers to the ocean each year. That is the equivalent of 66,000 to 225,000 doubledecker buses.
“The most successful solutions have been simpler technologies, such as booms, barriers and traps”
Without barriers, river currents carry plastic directly to the sea, where it becomes far trickier to tackle: plastic often floats for vast distances, can host invasive species and becomes part of the wider plastisphere, such as the concentration of seaborne waste in the Great Pacific garbage patch.
That is why some scientists are calling for greater efforts to stop plastic going into rivers in the first place. A 2020 study found that a “significant reduction” of plastic in the ocean could be achieved only by stopping it reaching the sea, or through a combination of river barriers and other clean-up devices.
Cue inventors, who have developed an array of river barriers and collection devices to catch and remove riverine plastic – from simple nets and booms to conveyor belts and robots.
Mr Trash Wheel, known officially as the Inner Harbor Water Wheel, is a conveyor-belt system powered by currents and solar energy, launched in 2014 in the US city of Baltimore. Long booms with submerged skirts funnel waste into a central hub, where autonomous rakes scoop it on to a conveyor belt that deposits it on a barge, with more than 17 tonnes collected in a day.
Once full, the barge takes the rubbish to be incinerated in a power plant, though it is hoped that eventually the collected waste can be sorted and recycled. There is now a whole family of Trash Wheels in Baltimore, the latest addition being Gwynnda, the Good Wheel of the West.
Or there’s the Interceptor, a floating, solar-powered device developed by the non-profit organisation The Ocean Cleanup, billed as the “world’s first scalable solution” to rid the oceans of plastic. Similar but larger than the trash wheel, it has barriers that guide rubbish on to a conveyor belt, where a shuttle distributes it among five onboard waste bins.
Another design, the Azure barrier, developed by the UK-based startup Ichthion to operate in any river, can remove up to 80 tonnes of plastic a day using durable, tide-sensitive booms that direct plastic to extraction points along the bank. The plastic is processed into flakes for recycling.
Other more hi-tech inventions include the WasteShark, an electronically controlled “aquadrone” that preys on plastic – up to 350kg at a time. Using algorithms from the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence, the WasteShark moves around and back to its docking station autonomously, where up to five of the catamaran-shaped vessels can deposit the collected plastic and recharge. The design, developed by a Dutch startup, RanMarine, is due to be showcased at CES 2022 in Las Vegas this month.
The WasteShark aquadrone uses algorithms to move around and back to its docking station autonomously, where it deposits the collected plastic and recharges. Photograph: Handout
While the cost of implementing these technologies may be feasible for some cities and towns – and vastly preferable to the cost of plastic pollution, which it is estimated will reach $7.1tn (£5.25tn) by 2040 – there are many other factors to consider. These include, says Morse, “the physical river characteristics, amount of waste, seasonal changes, ecology, power sources, workforce availability, security, boat traffic [and] funding”.
Philip Ehrhorn, co-founder of the Great Bubble Barrier, says: “One of the biggest challenges we face is the lack of regulation regarding plastic pollution in our waterways and thereof the lack of ownership and responsibility for the problem.
“The urgency to solve our plastic pollution problem in rivers is down to forward-thinking water authorities and governments, since plastic is not yet officially considered a water pollutant,” he says.
Plastic and other waste clogging Bangkok’s Ladprao canal. Up to 10 tonnes of rubbish are collected from the city’s canals everyday. Photograph: Narong Sangnak/EPA
There is no one-size-fits-all solution, says Morse. “Rivers vary immensely in respect to factors such as depth, width, flow and seasonality. What might work in a massive river like the Mississippi in the United States, which flows all year round, likely will not work for a smaller, more seasonal river like the Tijuana in Mexico.”
In Ecuador, Ichthion’s Azure prototype had problems on the Portoviejo River. Data had suggested the river’s depth varied in the wet and dry seasons by two metres; in reality, it fluctuated by as much as four metres within a few days.
Getting support from the local people and permission for new infrastructure can also be difficult. For the Clean Currents Coalition, which is working with eight teams around the world, simplicity works best.
“The most successful solutions have been the simpler technologies – such as booms, barriers and traps – that are manufactured locally and require manual removal of the captured waste,” Morse says. This can also create extra jobs.
One example of these is Wildcoast’s “brute boom” at the Los Laureles Canyon, a tributary of the Tijuana River. The double-walled float stretches across the river and allows the boom to move with the changing depth. A suspended steel mesh catches the plastic, which is taken for processing once the boom is full. Reports from San Diego in California suggest that it has succeeded in reducing plastic downstream.
The Interceptor scoops waste from the Klang River near the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur. The device, developed by the Ocean Cleanup, is solar-powered. Photograph: Mohd Rasfan/AFP/Getty
TerraCycle’s river traps, which are installed in some of Bangkok’s 1,600 polluted canals, catch up to 2.5 tonnes of waste a day, helping to recycle plastic instead of sending it to landfill.
A German startup, Plastic Fischer, has installed TrashBooms in waterways in Indonesia, India and Vietnam. It advocates a local, low-tech and low-cost approach, using locally manufactured mesh-and-float barriers to catch rubbish.
Many environmentalists argue that these innovations treat the symptoms, not the problem, and that the only real solution is to curb plastic production. But, with plastic manufacturing shipments estimated to have risen by 2.2% last year by the Plastic Industry Association, this is not likely any time soon.
“If we’re going to keep producing, consuming and disposing of plastics at, or near, our current rate, our ability to manage it needs to catch up – and quickly,” says Morse.
WasteShark, the world’s most popular shark, is ready for CES
CES has begun. The Netherlands is being represented there by fifty start-ups and twenty scale-ups. RanMarine is one of them.
About RanMarine
When Richard Hardiman, founder and CEO of RanMarine, saw two people on a boat fishing garbage out of the sea during his daily cup of coffee at the Port of Cape Town, he thought: this should be able to be done differently. So, WasteShark was born; a water drone that collects biomass and debris from the ocean’s surface. Almost six years later, the start-up is now preparing for the world’s largest tech trade fair: CES.
There are currently 26 WasteSharks sailing around the world in the most diverse of places. They keep the parks of Disney clean as well as harbors in Spain. And recently the United Nations also became a customer. Esther Lokhorst, COO at RanMarine, talks about the preparations for the CES trade fair and the company’s latest developments.
The WasteShark, what kind of shark is that exactly?
Esther Lokhorst, COO at RanMarine commented
“A really extraordinary one! It is a water drone modeled on the whale shark. The WasteShark does not disturb or threaten aquatic life, it is small (157 cm by 109 cm) and electric. This offers a lot of advantages. For instance, when it comes to clean-up boats, you have to clear the entire wharf before they can get to work. Our water drone is much more flexible and sails in between everything. In addition, the Shark can run for eight to ten hours on one battery and collect 500 kilograms of waste in a net attached to the bottom of the drone. They are all linked to our portal. Through that portal, customers plan the required route and GPS routes guide them to the right location. Lidar can also be added to increase the level of safety.”
But, the WasteShark can do more than just clean up, right?
“Yes, the drones are also capable of measuring data, such as pollution levels and the presence of algae. If there are enough of our sharks swimming around the world, that data will then become extremely interesting. We eventually plan to make that data available to governments and NGOs, so that we can fight pollution together.”
Over at the CES, you will be launching a new creation – the SharkPod. Tell us about it!
You have to see the SharkPod as a collection point where five WasteSharks can empty their trash. The Pod also enables the Sharks to communicate with and support each other. We are also working on the OilShark, which skims oil off the surface of the water, as well as the four-by-two-meter MegaShark. Whereas the WasteShark is designed for inland waters and coastal waters, the MegaShark can really venture out into the ocean.”
Where will RanMarine be in five years?
“Our ambition is to have drones in key, strategic locations across all continents around the world. In five years’ time, we will hopefully have offices in several different countries, including the United States. We are, and will remain, an engineering company. We are manufacturing the first series of new machines ourselves, but beyond that, we will outsource the manufacturing. I also think that by then we will have developed new technologies that respond to environmental problems, such as blue-green algae.”
You are attending CES this week – the largest technology trade fair in the world. Are you ready for the American onslaught that will be coming your way?
“I’m curious, it’s the first time for us. The NL Mission has prepared us very well and we will bring a drone with us. We’re really looking forward to it, but at the same time we find it really exciting!”
What makes it so exciting?
“I think the fact that we don’t have a salesperson. So, we really have to do that ourselves. Sales is our biggest challenge in any event – I don’t think we have all the skills in house yet to market our drones through cold acquisitions. In that regard, CES and the preparation for it are actually extremely educational.”
CES will take place from 5 January to 8 January in Las Vegas.
Written by Aafke Eppinga 0f Innovation Origins NL on 6 January 2022
Plastic Marine litter is one of the biggest threats to ocean life and humans. Now that there is more plastic in the water than fish, new solutions are desperately needed to radically reduce the harmful effects of microplastics. That’s why the Dutch start-up RanMarine Technology is showing the WasteShark USV (Unmanned Surface Vessel) at CES 2022, a floating drone designed to remove harmful plastic waste from waters and return it to shore before it can do damage.
Every year, 8 million tons of toxic plastic leak into our oceans. The UN Environmental Program predicts that this number will triple to about 35 million tons per year by 2040. RanMarine Technology, a startup of CleanTech Robotics, has come up with a solution to eradicate this pollution. The company invented multiple floating drones to clear waterways, canals, rivers and ports of plastic before it leaks into the ocean. In addition, the company is introducing a new docking station, with which the drones can independently remove plastic for 24 hours a day.
Water quality analysis
The WasteShark is designed to intelligently harvest plastic and biomass waste from urban waterways in smart cities, ports and ports. In addition to waste harvesting the drone also collects critical water quality data. The drone can be controlled directly by an operator or used in Autonomous mode. In this latter scenario, users can set the route and mission remotely via an online dashboard.
WasteShark’s features
With 180 liters (47.5 gallons) of capacity and an 8-hour runtime, this hardworking robot can remove 500kg (1100lb) of waste a day. The WasteShark is also easy to use and deploy. Using 4G onboard communications and an easy setup process, launching multiple drones has been made deliberately simple and easy for customers. Additionally, the drone uses advanced battery technology ensuring emission-free operation on the water, and not adding to the water’s pollution. This makes the WasteShark one of the solutions leading the way in the fight against plastic.
SharkPod Mothership
RanMarine will also introduce the SharkPod, the world’s first autonomous floating docking station for waste-clearing drones, at CES 2022. With the ability to deploy, dock and charge up to 5 WasteShark drones at any time, this latest tool in pollution-fighting technology will enable ports, harbors and cities to operate a 24-hour autonomous solution to remove floating waste from the water.
With the ability to remove 1 ton of waste per drone per day, RanMarine expects the SharkPod to be capable to remove up to 100 tons or more of debris and waste per month. With the prototype unit that will be deployed in 2022, among other places in the Port of Rotterdam, drones will be able to dock, discharge waste, recharge and redeploy on a continuous 24-hour basis: all from a centrally controlled online environment.
New approach to current problems
The brainchild of RanMarine founder and CEO Richard Hardiman: “We have an epic battle on our hands. Current technologies are simply not working, we need a modern approach to a modern problem, and for me robots and autonomous drones were an easy and simple answer. Of course it’s critical to create policies and strategies to stop plastic waste from entering our waterways as a primary strategy. Our WasteSharks offer a pragmatic solution for cleaning up the existing mess that is perpetuated on a daily basis, and effectively prevent waste from reaching the open ocean.”
“With the release of the SharkPod, we aim to see full time deployment of WasteSharks with zero emissions and greater and quicker capture of toxic plastics in our waterways”, says Hardiman. “With an ever-increasing plastic pollution challenge at hand, we need to reduce costs, increase capture rates and make these solutions ever more affordable and easier to deploy for every city and port globally.”
Existing customers
RanMarine’s robotic products are designed to remove plastic waste and biomass such as algae from waterways; their clients span over twelve territories and are made up of civic and commercial entities including the Port of Houston, Disney theme parks, the United Nations and local and state authorities worldwide.
To contribute to the huge challenge of cleaning and monitoring our world’s waters, RanMarine Technology developed the patented WasteShark. It is the world’s first autonomous aquadrone designed for clearing marine plastic waste. At a running cost of 20% of other marine waste removal solutions and with zero emission operation, the intelligent WasteShark is easy to operate and maintain. The WasteShark is our first model and our roadmap includes products based on the WasteShark such as the OilShark and MegaShark. It is accessible to public and private entities that aim to contribute to restoring the marine environment to its natural state.
The WasteShark is an aqua-drone designed to be efficient and unobtrusive, it is an intelligent CleanTech tool used for removal of all-purpose waste and collecting data from waters.
RanMarine Technology’s ambition is to contribute to the challenge of cleaning and monitoring our world’s waters, RanMarine Technology developed the WasteShark. At a running cost of 20% of other marine waste removal solutions and with a zero emission operation, the intelligent WasteShark is easy to operate and maintain.
RanMarine Technology, selected as one of the CES® 2022 Innovation Awards Honoree, is the manufacturer of the WasteShark. The autonomous aquadrone is designed for clearing marine waste and monitoring water health near coastal waters, lakes and urban waterways. It is accessible to public and private entities such as government entities, ports, marinas as well as corporates looking to support the restoration of the marine environment.
“This could be done better” is a phrase we’ve heard many times before and one that certainly applies to environmental issues. It’s this very thought that led to the birth of RanMarine Technology.
Richard Hardiman is a South African entrepreneur who considers himself an accidental environmentalist. He feels that NGOs and governmental organisations will not solely solve the climate crisis but that businesses seeking profit will help significantly by creating products and services that are crucial for protecting the environment.
His initial idea was not actually motivated by trying to solve environmental issues. He was enjoying a cup of coffee one sunny day at a waterfront coffee shop in Cape Town, South Africa when he saw people in boats using small swimming pool nets to retrieve bits of plastic from the ocean. The scene both annoyed and fascinated him as it was obviously a futile attempt. By the time he finished his coffee, he realised that innovation was to be the only solution for removing plastic from the ocean, and he left the restaurant with excitement as the wheels began turning in his head.
That was in 2015 and in 2016 Richard founded RanMarine Technology in the Netherlands. He identified a major problem – so much waste entering our waterways and polluting our waters – and created an innovative product that tackled this issue head-on. He built the aqua drone prototype in his garage by glueing PVC pipes together, all the while doing plenty of research to help him perfect his design. He even learned how to code on his smartphone and eventually, he launched the drone into a swimming pool and began manoeuvring it around. It did exactly what he hoped it would.
After he developed his product, he was met with the usual challenge of finding investors, typically faced by most startups. While the product was good and received excellent feedback, he still needed to work on his pitching skills. It wasn’t until he gained the attention of an accelerator program in Rotterdam that his startup really began taking off. RanMarine made it into the top 20 finalists of the accelerator program, much to Richard’s elation. Elation quickly turned to panic when Richard realised he’d have to come up with the money to get to The Netherlands.
But Lady Luck was shining down upon Richard. He found a local South African investor who took a risk on the project and lent him the funds to go to the finals. The response to the WasteShark at the finals was overwhelmingly positive, and it was given a place on the accelerator program, much to Richard’s relief. As a result, he went to Rotterdam for three months, where RanMarine Technology became a pilot project with the Port of Rotterdam, the world’s largest port.
Richard and his team at RanMarine underwent numerous hurdles when starting up the company, but now, six years later, their WasteShark is a feature of many harbours and ports around the world.
The company has grown significantly and now employs a team of 15 people. They also have accumulated several awards and accolades throughout their journey as a company. Some of these were provided by 3G Awards, EIT Digital, the European Commission Seal of Excellence, and more. The RanMarine team is incredibly passionate about using robotics to tackle climate-related issues
Here are what some of the team members have had to say about working at RanMarine Technology:
“I love working for RanMarine because it’s a young company doing innovative things. Doing good for our planet in one way or another has always been something close to my heart. I also really like being at the forefront of new developments by helping to chart the course of development for the robotics side of the system.” – Peter Geurts, Robotics Engineer/ Head of Robotics
“I think it’s rare nowadays that people get to work in a place that they both enjoy and can contribute to a cause that is important to them, and I’m grateful to be doing just that. The most exciting aspect at RanMarine is having breakthrough moments! It’s an incredible feeling when there’s a difficult problem, and we combine the knowledge and hard work of the whole team to solve the issue.” – Tessa Despinic, Design Engineer.
“For me, it was an absolute no-brainer to work with a company like RanMarine that is progressive and forward-thinking with a non-negotiable mission in making sure our oceans are safe and free of plastic for generations to come. In a nutshell, we all have to strive to be ambassadors for change for the sake of our oceans and natural waterways across the globe.” – Eugene van Eck, Business Development Manager.
“I’m 60% water myself, so I’m very much obliged to agree with a company that wants to keep the world’s water supply clean. Wouldn’t you? Being able to work with some of the brightest people in this space, on a true goal, while contributing my own small piece to this very complicated pie has been the most exciting aspect of working at RanMarine.” – Remco Eijsackers, Software Engineer / Product Owner.
“If you work for a company that encourages employees to share their ideas and that supports innovation, you can create a collaborative environment and improve your skills. This is exactly what RanMarine does” – Muhammad Bilal, Software Engineer.
The story of how Richard Hardiman started RanMarine is incredibly inspirational, teaching us that anything is possible with a clear vision, tenacity, and hard work. The company has experienced incredible growth, going from 1 to 16 team members in just six years. They have also received many awards and accolades and have been featured in the media and on the TedX program. RanMarine has also fostered a great working environment for their team members where the team enjoy their work but also face challenges that allow them to expand and experience substantial growth.
Governments, political leaders, and businesses could undoubtedly take a leaf out of Richard’s book. We need to act against plastic pollution before it is too late and robotics and technology give us the speed needed to do that. Innovative technology is what will help us to not only fight climate change but reverse its damage.
Meet WasteShark, the aquadrone taking a bite out of plastic waste
Meet WasteShark, the aquadrone taking a bite out of plastic waste
This article was adapted from the Climate Tech Weekly newsletter. Subscribe here.
Entrepreneur Richard Hardiman sketched the inspiration for his plastic-grabbing aquadrone, WasteShark, while sipping coffee outside near a South African waterway.
It was there he watched a boat crew cruise around the basin, scooping up empty water bottles and other debris with what amounted to a net you’d use to clean a swimming pool. “I kept wondering how I could do the job more efficiently. The idea wouldn’t go away for months,” he recalled in a conversation with me last week.
Roughly eight years later, after developing YouTube-inspired prototypes in his garage (yes, literally) using plumbing pipes and his phone as a remote control, the aquadrone that Hardiman describes as a “Roomba for water” is finding early customers both in European cities including Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and in U.S. cities such as Atlanta and Coral Gables, Florida.
Ultimately, robots play a part in going and getting the job done, as messy as it is, without complaining.
In its commercial form, WasteShark, sold by Hardiman’s startup RanMarine, is eating up plastics, biomass, algaes and other debris, such as coconuts. With the help of sensors and analytics software, its mission has also been expanded to applications such as water quality testing. About 70 percent of RanMarine’s business is with municipalities, but big companies — including Disney and Universal, which are using the technology in lakes at their resorts — are helping RanMarine explore more commercial applications. Its current revenue is about $1.18 million annually.
“We find most people who buy it are already into cleaning up and recycling,” Hardiman said. “They are already thinking in this frame and figuring out how to automate more of that work.”
How much can the WasteShark gobble up? Each unit has a swim time of about seven to eight hours, collecting about a half ton of garbage in a single shift before the aquadrone needs to be recharged. During that time, it can cover about 7.45 miles, or a couple of football fields in area, according to Hardiman. The price tag starts about $23,600.
Once a WasteShark’s appetite is sated, it can be returned to a docking station, a SharkPod, where the waste is unloaded. From there, it’s collected and processed as part of the company or city’s traditional waste management systems, Hardiman said.
The WasteShark in a waterway in Dordrecht, the Netherlands.
RanMarine, based in Rotterdam, is planning a big U.S. push in 2022, with a big focus on Florida and Gulf states facing thorny clean-up challenges — a prototype for a larger “oilshark” that could potentially be used for spills and leaks is in progress. It could find a following in places such as Nigeria, given the nation’s history of spill associated with oil production, Hardiman said. Also in the works is a docking system that could make the units more fully autonomous — right now, they run via remote controls.
The money for all that research and development is coming from several backers. RanMarine’s initial funding came through an accelerator for the port of Rotterdam. It also is operating with a grant from the European Union and took an early-stage, bridge fund investment of about $590,000 from European venture capital firm Boundary Holdings.
Given that close to 8 million metric tons of waste are flowing into the ocean annually, Hardiman is under no illusion that one startup can alone solve the ocean plastic issue. “Before the trash gets into the ocean, we have a customer… If you start collecting trash in the ocean, no one lays claim,” he said.
And by addressing waste and debris in the waterways that dump into the open sea, RanMarine’s team hopes to take a bite out of the problem. “Ultimately, robots play a part in going and getting the job done, as messy as it is, without complaining,” he said. “Let humans get on with the job of making the planet better.”
Technological interventions across flood-hit regions the need of the hour
From India and China to Germany and Belgium, floods have wreaked havoc across the globe, adding to the woes of the ongoing pandemic. The natural disaster not only put people’s lives at stake, but is also detrimental to the environment. With debris and waste materials being washed away into the water bodies, the marine environment also gets disturbed.
While relief efforts are on full swing, during such times, technological intervention is also the need of the hour. WasteShark by RanMarine Technology, a Netherland-based company, is one such example. Modelled after the Whale Shark, WasterShark is an autonomous surface vessel that is used as a cleaning tool across water bodies.
With zero greenhouse emissions, the water robot is said to be the world’s first data harvesting autonomous surface vessel. It removes waste materials from marine environment all the while monitoring the pollution levels.
The technology can be operated autonomously and has the capability of removing up to 500 debris per day. The best part about WasteShark is that it comes at an affordable price and is easily transportable.
The technology has been leveraged by several countries for cleaning up water bodies. With this, RanMarine Technology has proven its expertise and competence. Garnering investments from Luxembourg based firms like the Rajat Khare led Boundary Holding, it has also been able to scale up its operations over the years. This has, in turn, boosted the tech company to keep on working towards its commitment – of protecting waters across the planet.
RanMarine is just one among the few tech companies across the world that have been innovatively depolluting the water bodies. However, at a time when mankind and the earth are being devastated by the disastrous floods, development and deployment of technologies like WasteShark, is imperative. This will not only help in removing ‘floating pollution’ across water bodies faster, but also enable relief workers to focus more on humanitarian efforts.
Excerpt from: the IBTDesk ”Finding sustainable solutions
The collaboration led to a crucial development after Rajat Khare met the founder of the Dutch Cleantech startup – RanMarine, Richard Hardiman. While speaking on the occasion, Rajat Khare said that the past progress of the company impressed him the most, and technologies like Cleantech & Medtech would attract more investments from Boundary Holding in the future.
Since waste in international waters is nobody’s direct responsibility, the world has been looking for an eco-friendly and sustainable solution – to clean and maintain water health. Thus, it would be safe to assume that such investments can help innovative ideas find their niche in the ever-growing market. ASVs designed by RanMarine help in round-the-clock monitoring and cleaning from waterways. The machine can clean over 500 kg debris per day with 10 hours swim time, 5 km range, and a 15-year-long lifetime.
For the investor Rajat Khare, positive social return matters, however, his company’s main emphasis would be to realize financial gains from such investments in the future.
As mankind continues to evolve exponentially, impacting the environment, Cleantech innovation and the green economy are being considered critically important, especially in the maritime sector. Moreover, high-octane awareness campaigns & programs by the environmentalists would force the world to use cleaner, more inclusive shipping mechanisms, making Cleantech the best possible solution in the market and investors need to assist companies to accomplish such tasks.”
