DEVELOPMENT OF INNOVATIVE MODELING TOOLS TO ASSESS THE MARINE VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE PLASTIC POLLUTION AT BASIN AND REGIONAL SCALES

TECHNOLOGY

Wastewater and Solid Waste Treatment

plastic pollution reduction and others

Elimination and Remediation

Solution Scope:Litter collection systems from the sea / rivers (Mechanical)

Target Contaminant: Plastics & Other Litter 

Solution Provider or Contact Point: Minds  

Project: CLAIM – Cleaning Litter by developing and Applying Innovative Methods in European seas

ITS Description: The CLEANTRASH system stands for Claim’s Litter Entrapping Autonomous Network Tactical Recovery Accumulation System Hellas. The tech based ITS contains and collects litter from river mouths, preventing this pollution from reaching larger marine environments and breaking down into microplastics. The system is a highly efficient and unparalleled solution for managing and removing marine litter from river mouths before it can enter larger bodies of water. The system features a well-designed storage system with multiple levels that can be easily exchanged when full. It incorporates a combination of advanced operational systems and proven oil spill response, salvage, and marine protection equipment, including heavy-duty containment boom, auxiliary fence type booms, a floating foundation, and a hot-dipped galvanized steel collection cage with three separate chambers for storing litter as small as 5 mm. The system also includes independent floats that utilize salvage technology to move the storage level and can be remotely controlled via satellite when a level is full. Optional remote operation and observation versions are available, and the system can be tailored to fit the specific needs and environment of each installation.

Correspondence with BMM OIR (sectoral priorities, R&I activities, gaps, needs): The ITS responds to a R&I focus area of activities alongside the elimination and remediation dimension, particularly through the development of technological litter collection systems. Furthermore, the solution addresses technological challenges of the BMM OIR for the Wastewater and Solid Waste Management Sectors. Most prominently, it minimizes losses into waters and seas by adopting advanced mechanized technologies.