Amsterdam is using a new technology, or rather a new application of existing technology, to help clear rubbish and especially small bits of plastic from its canals.
The technique uses air bubbles, rising from a punctured pipe along the canal bottom. The compressed air pumped into the pipe pushes plastic and rubbish up and to one side, where it is captured and removed. The 60m pipe in the test area will run 24/7 for three years while it’s being evaluated.
The regional water authority says that its five rubbish boats in the city already remove 3500kg of waste a day from the waterways, including 42,000kg of plastic a year. But that process misses smaller pieces that tend to pile up at the bottom; the new installation is designed to get them up and out.
