A benevolent lake monster feared only by stray plastics and litterbugs can now be spotted in the waters of Lake Simcoe, Ont., following the September launch of PixieDrone—a remote-operated, mobile waste collector from the environmental nonprofit group Pollution Probe.
The launch event, attended by Barrie Mayor Alex Nuttall, MPP Doug Downey, and Christopher Hilkene, CEO of Pollution Probe, marked the first deployment of the drone technology on the Canadian side of the Great Lakes Plastic Cleanup.
Agile and remote-controlled, the PixiDrone is a relatively new technology that allows for efficient collection of plastic pollution as it is able to access more difficult locations, such as the spaces between boats. Additionally, it’s small stature makes it easy to deploy in other communities, explains Hilkene. On the PixiDrone’s diet? Plastic, metal, paper, and organic floating debris.
While the removal of floating debris is the main objective, on the other side of the equation are the insights afforded to municipalities into what kinds of objects are making their way to the water and from where. “Because we’re removing plastic from the water and have the ability to analyze it in conjunction with our community partners, it allows us to talk to communities about what we’re finding. That leads to community driven activities, which help address plastic pollution,” says Hilkene. “But we can also aggregate all the data that we’re getting from different sites around the Great Lakes to identify commonalities, as well as local problems.”
The PixiDrone is being piloted in Kempenfelt Bay—dubbed “the jewel of our city” by Mayor Nuttall in a press release—before being employed across other lakes in the Great Lakes region, but Hilkene says the pilot has been promising. “We started off late in the season, so next year will be a bigger year for us,” he says. “But already we’ve been collecting a good amount of stuff. We’re looking forward to seeing how it increases the robustness of our data collection.”
In addition to the PixiDrone project, earlier this year, the city of Barrie partnered with Pollution Probe who provided the city with a fleet of Seabins, another trash-trapping technology. There were trash audits attended by community members and the bins collected critical data on what was removed from the water. With the Seabins, Barrie was reporting the collection of 76 pieces of trash on average per day—a number Mayor Nuttall says will only grow as the new drone technology allows for even greater amounts of plastic to be removed.
Following the PixiDrone launch event, Mayor Nuttall lauded the collaboration between the City and Pollution Probe. “The addition of this PixieDrone will allow us to take an innovative approach to keeping our lake clean,” he said. “Our waterfront is not just a place of natural beauty, but a vital part of our city’s identity and economy. With the addition of this new PixieDrone, we’re taking important steps to preserve it for future generations.”
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