Ocean Crusaders Automatic River Cleaner (ARC) undergoing sea trials

Automatic river cleaner © Ocean Crusaders

Marine Debris levels in our oceans are increasing rapidly and the only real way to effectively stop it is to collect it before it gets out there.

Hence we have developed a 24/7 collection device for Australian rivers that not only collects the debris, it lifts it out of the water and places it in a skip bin ready for removal.

Our first Automatic River Cleaner (ARC) is in the water undergoing sea trials. The device uses both hydro and solar power to turn a conveyor belt that will lift the debris up out of the water and place it into a skip bin ready for removal. The image here is of the prototype unit which is being added to slowly and we will continue to update the page here as we develop this new device.

As the tide runs out, the wheel will free flow and that drives the conveyor belt. That is assisted by a water pump to keep the wheel turning even if there is no tide and there is a switching system that will turn the pump off when the tide is incoming (no debris in the boom) Once on site out in the Port of Brisbane there will be two debris booms coming off the front of the conveyor which will direct the debris to the belt.

The biggest advantage of this device is that in times of rainfall events, the river runs faster and with more debris. As the river runs faster, the conveyor will too run faster and collect debris quicker. Our long term vision is to have two models available. This prototype is the mini size made for smaller rivers with a belt width of 850mm, hence only for smaller items. We will have a Maxi unit that will have a belt size of 1800mm made in due course that will service larger river systems like the Brisbane River, Cooks & Georges Rivers in Sydney and the Yarra River in Melbourne. We are also working on a concept to have the debris transferred into a skip bin on land to decrease the need of a vessel to service the units, hence reducing maintenance costs.

Our model is simple, we need the units funded, either through government or corporate porgrams. The ability to run advertising on the units makes it a great way for a corporation to contribute to the environment and gain exposure on major rivers for doing so. The units can either be maintained by Ocean Crusaders or other entities, we are no precious about this. We just want to see the units working to reduce the amount of debris in the waterways. If you feel your local river could do with one of these devices, get your local government to contact us either by email or phone 0447 TURTLE (887 853)

This first prototype has been funded through grants from IFM Investors and Suez with assistance from the Port or Brisbane, Scallywag Fabrications and Matt Pilecki. Engineering was completed by RDT Engineering Brisbane.

K'Gari Fraser clean up

We are trying to set up a permanent cleaning team on K'gari as it certainly needs it. This will work through a sponsorship and donation program and will employ two local indigenous people on the island two days a week to sweep the beach. We will also offer corporate team building weekends. Stay Tuned.

For more information visit facebook.com/OceanCrusaders/events.