Ontario’s beaches are getting a high-tech upgrade this summer as Canada’s first beach-cleaning robot rolls into action. The fully electric, solar-assisted machine, known as BeBot, began operations this week at Sibbald Point Provincial Park on Lake Simcoe and will continue its tour across several provincial parks in the coming months.
Resembling a miniature Zamboni, the BeBot is designed to sift sand and remove a wide range of debris, including plastic, metal, glass, and paper. Developed as part of a collaboration between the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks and environmental organization Pollution Probe, the BeBot aims to tackle litter before it reaches the water, where it can break down into harmful microplastics.
Melissa DeYoung, CEO of Pollution Probe, emphasized the urgency of removing plastics at the source and highlighted the robot’s added role in education and public engagement. By collecting data on the types of debris it captures, the BeBot also helps identify the origins of plastic pollution, which can lead to more effective long-term solutions.
With a top speed of nearly three kilometres per hour, the BeBot can clean up to 3,000 square metres of beach per hour and operate for up to eight hours on a single charge. It’s capable of collecting the equivalent of 19 bowling balls worth of litter in a single outing, making it both efficient and environmentally friendly.
The robot’s next stops include Inverhuron Provincial Park on Lake Huron, Long Point on Lake Erie, and Sandbanks and Darlington Provincial Parks along Lake Ontario. While its main task is removing litter, its presence on popular beaches is intended to spark conversations with beachgoers about plastic pollution and encourage waste reduction.
The project is part of the larger Great Lakes Plastic Cleanup initiative, launched in 2020 by Pollution Probe and the Council of the Great Lakes Region. The Ontario government has contributed nearly $1 million to support these efforts since 2021. Andrew Dowie, parliamentary assistant to Environment Minister Todd McCarthy, confirmed the province’s ongoing support for innovative solutions to plastic waste.
BeBot joins a fleet of over 160 plastic-capturing technologies already deployed by Pollution Probe around the Great Lakes. As it travels across Ontario’s shores, it serves not only as a cleanup tool but as a visible reminder of the need to protect Canada’s waterways from plastic pollution.