Waterway sweepers
Street sweepers are part of the urban landscape, even in small towns like Marcillon-Vallon with its 1,800 inhabitants. Yet these cleaning machines represent a substantial investment: between €100k and €170k for acquisition, and annual operational costs of around €40k to €50k for a full-time maintenance worker and regular servicing. Still, no one questions their usefulness in keeping our roads clean.
But what about our ports and coastlines?
For a similar budget and performance — around €150k and 1.5 hectares cleaned per hour — the Wastecleaner boats built by EFINOR and used by EKKOPOL can collect all floating debris within just a few hours. Yet, while there are thousands of street sweepers in service across France, only a small handful of water-cleaning boats operate along our coastline.
In an average French municipality, the area to clean includes hundreds of hectares and dozens of kilometers of roads. While multiple street sweepers may be required, a single EKKOPOL boat can clean an entire bay or harbor, as most floating waste travels and accumulates in specific zones depending on currents and winds. A regular (i.e., daily) and systematic cleaning of these areas reduces the impact of this pollution and helps improve communication and public awareness.
By pooling water-cleaning services across several ports, the cost becomes minimal — often less than ten euros per resident per year, compared to hundreds of euros paid in household waste collection taxes (TEOM).
So, it’s not the budget that’s slowing down floating waste collection, but the lack of awareness among decision-makers about this insidious, recurring, and harmful pollution.
When it comes to marine pollution, the public often thinks of oil spills. Thanks to international cooperation, regulation, and government resources, oil pollution has been reduced by a factor of 100. But plastic pollution is more dangerous for the environment and for human health: it’s invisible, constant, and spreads toxic chemicals. Every second, thousands of cubic meters of microplastics and macro-waste are discharged into the world’s oceans. That’s why we must keep communicating, raising awareness, and convincing stakeholders — so that “waterway sweepers” become a familiar sight along the French coastline.
