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The beaches of the Great Lakes are beautiful. That is, if it's not covered in trash. This is a big problem and requires many different kinds of solutions. At least in the near future, the region will be getting help from an unexpected partnership and a pair of cute, trash-loving robots.
Midwestern retailer Meijer, a chain of supercenters selling everything from groceries to electronics, is trying a new kind of solution to the waste problem around the Great Lakes. As part of the Great Lakes Plastic Cleanup Program, the brand is leading the largest deployment of robotic technology to form the world's largest surface freshwater system.
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The technologies in question are BeBot and Pixie drones.
“Living near the Great Lakes is a privilege and comes with an inherent responsibility to protect it,” said Rick Keyes, Meijer President and CEO. “Contributing to the conservation of these precious waterways is important to our ecosystem, economy and well-being of the communities we serve. Meijer has a strong history of environmental stewardship and influence on these initiatives, so we are excited to partner with CGLR. “I’m delighted. Ultimately, it will benefit future generations.”
The BeBot and Pixie drones were funded through a $1 million donation from Meijer to the charities of the Council of Foundations of the Great Lakes Region (CGLR) earlier this year. The deployment of these devices is part of the expansion of plastic capture and recovery efforts of the Great Lakes Plastic Cleanup, an initiative launched in 2020 by CGLR and Pollution Probe.
“Microplastics have become one of the most pressing problems facing our waterways in the Great Lakes and globally, and we are excited and honored to participate in Meijer’s initiative to fund new technologies to address this problem.” says dr. Al Steinman, Allen and Helen Hunting Research Professor, Annis Water Resources Institute, Grand Valley State University. “Addressing the microplastic dilemma is important not only for the ecology of our local waters, but also for the economies of coastal communities where people visit and recreate at our beaches and lakes with the expectation that they will be clean and pollutant-free. BeBot and Pixie Drone meet these expectations. “It will help us meet that.”
The robot, which is technically a drone because it can be controlled remotely, is solar-powered and battery-powered. They address waste pollution from both land and water. BeBot, a land-based system, cleans 32,000 square feet per hour. The system sifts sand and collects plastic waste, food wrappers and cigarette butts. Crucially, drones do not alter the environment or disturb native plants or species.
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The Pixie Drone takes to the water to collect up to 200 pounds of waste debris floating on the water's surface. It also serves as a data collection platform to measure temperature, pH, salinity, turbidity and dissolved oxygen levels.
“The Great Lakes, at the heart of the two countries’ Great Lakes economic region, are a globally important natural resource,” explains Mark Fisher, President and CEO of CGLR. “By working with companies like Meijer that share CGLR’s strong commitment to building the region’s future sustainability and economy today, we, as consumers, are working to ensure that the materials we use never end up in plastic waste while keeping our beaches and waterways clean and free from plastic waste. “You can sustain without waste by adopting a circular economy mindset locally.”
This is a great story about a retailer involved in a consumer cycle that inherently produces too much waste, investing in improvement efforts. Meijer is also working on numerous store-level projects impacting the Great Lakes, including the CGLR project to install culvert stormwater filtration systems at select Meijer locations.