“Yachts” collect trash on the river

Currently, many models of automatic garbage collection on the river using solar energy with remote control have been researched and implemented, bringing high efficiency in practice. From there, it contributes to reducing water pollution and helping to restore urban beauty. From scrap to automatic garbage collector The automatic garbage bin on the river running on solar energy is the initiative of Mr. Huynh Ngoc Thai Anh (31 years old), a student of the Faculty of Information Technology , Can Tho University. With recycled materials such as water pipes, motorbike chains, light water engines of cars, etc., Mr. Thai Anh has researched and simulated 3D models, measured the effective movement of the parts to manufacture the WSCA2.0 garbage machine.

Teacher Huynh Ngoc Thai Anh and the solar-powered trash can (Photo:Education & Times Newspaper)

The machine is designed like a small ship with a stainless steel circle attached to the front. This net has the function of continuously rolling trash at a distance of 20cm, rolling floating waste such as plastic, masks, bottles... into a storage compartment with a volume of about 2-3kg. The device has an operating range of over 20m and is controlled by a smartphone via wifi connection. The machine uses an acid tank to create an energy battery. Each full charge can operate continuously for 1-1.5 hours. With a total production experience of less than 5 million VND, the machine was highly appreciated when it was put into actual operation at Cai Rang floating market and excellently won first prize in the national creative idea race for an ocean without plastic waste organized by UNESCO in 2020. River garbage collection boat With the goal of inhibiting and collecting floating plastic waste on the Can Tho River, The Ocean Cleanup (TOC) of the Netherlands has supported the completion of the automatic floating garbage collection system (Interceptor). This is the main system that the organization invented to protect the environment while contributing to urban regeneration.

“Cruise boat” is automatically collecting trash on the river. (Photo: illustration)

The solar-powered garbage collection system is shaped like a small ferry, with a 100m long trash screen arranged along the side of the boat. Thanks to the force of the current, the system carries the trash along the trash screen to the conveyor belt inside. The installed technology ensures that the amount of trash is evenly distributed into each container without being overloaded or overflowing. When all the trash containers are full, the barge will be taken by a tugboat to the trash collection location and the trash will be transferred to shore.

Piloted since December 2021, it is estimated that each month, the system collects about 10 tons of floating waste on the Can Tho River such as plastic waste, plants, water hyacinth, etc. According to Mr. Boyan Slat, CEO and Founder of TOC, this organization aims to deploy a river cleaning system on 1,000 rivers around the world , estimated to be able to control the equivalent of 80% of waste flowing into the ocean.

Need more awareness from people

According to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Can Tho City, currently, every day, about 650 tons of household waste are collected, reaching a rate of 85 to 90%, which means nearly 10% of the waste is buried or burned by people themselves. Worse, many people litter in the river, causing blockage of the flow and environmental pollution.

Ms. Nguyen Thu Ha, a resident living next to Quang Trung Bridge (Ninh Kieu, Can Tho City) shared that since the models of collecting garbage on the river were deployed, they have shown clear results. Hopefully, all the garbage floating on the river will be collected, bringing a new look, creating a beautiful impression for the Tay Do river.

However, the next core issue is that people need to raise awareness. Do not subjectively rely on the waste treatment models that are being implemented and litter indiscriminately into rivers and canals, slowing down progress and overloading the collection equipment.

Mr. Tran Van Thanh, resident of Xuan Khanh ward, Ninh Kieu district, said: “Everyone must be aware of protecting the common environment. Besides, there must be measures to deal with violators to create fairness and civilization. If people’s awareness is poor, no matter how many garbage collection devices there are on the river, they will become useless.”

Mai Anh