Picture a Roomba, but for the beach: BeBot is a new roving trash collector that will soon hit the shores of Belle Isle State Park. It’s all part of a bid not just to keep beaches clean for residents, but to prevent harmful trash from ending up in the waterways in the Great Lakes region.
The BeBot, similar to a remote-controlled car, weighs about 590 kilograms and has a solar panel on the back. Operated by Genevieve Rattray, the director of sustainability and advocacy for the Belle Isle Conservancy, the machine sifts through the top inch or two of sand to pull out trash.
There are six of these litter-collecting robots around the Great Lakes, but this is the first BeBot in Detroit. The machine was unveiled Monday for Earth Day and will have its first deployment on June 8 for World Ocean Day. Ahead of time, Rattray says they’re brainstorming ways for people to get involved and possibly name the BeBot.
The BeBot doesn’t replace the dedicated team of volunteers who help keep Belle Isle spick and span. “This is really complementing that work as it allows the robot to go into the sand and get things that volunteers typically would not,” Rattray said. She pointed to litter like cigarette butts: They’re the top source of pollution worldwide and are hard to collect by hand.
“It’s something new and exciting.” While the BeBot is confined to the sand, Rattray says there are similar machines that work in water. She’s hopeful they’ll have one in place next year.
Lora Shrake, the senior program director for business and sustainability with the Council of the Great Lakes Region, emphasized the BeBot’s dual role as a trash collector and an educational tool. “It’s an opportunity to educate them about the Great Lakes … Many people that live in the region don’t recognize this vital natural resource that we have in our own backyard,” Shrake said, noting the Great Lakes are the source of drinking water for 40 million Canadians and Americans.
“It’s just a really great educational opportunity to to teach why this waste doesn’t belong there in the first place and what our options are to prevent that.”
Shrake also highlighted the importance of categorizing collected waste to identify pollution sources and pathways, enabling targeted solutions to address the root of the problem.
Since the Council for the Great Lakes Region introduced its Great Lakes Plastic Cleanup in 2020, they’ve collected more than 180,000 pieces of debris. Last year, with four BeBots running, they collected 50,000 pieces alone. This year there will be a total of seven BeBots running.
Plastic entering the Great Lakes is a “critical issue,” Shrake said. And while there aren’t yet any BeBots operating on Canadian shores, Shrake says they’re looking for money to introduce one in Canada sometime soon.
“Some models … suggest that as much as 22 million pounds of plastic could be entering the Great Lakes annually,” Shrake said. “So it’s an important one that we are looking at.”
