Floating Trash Barrier

Context

A floating trash barrier (FTB), developed by AlphaMERS Ltd. and deployed in eight cities across India to trap trash in water bodies, has won the Cleaning and Restoring India’s Water Bodies Challenge.

About

• Floating trash barriers could address the serious environmental issue of floating solid waste pollution plaguing India’s water bodies.
• Floating barriers, also referred to as boom, are devices placed in the water to control and contain oil, floating debris, invasive aquatic plants, trash, silt, sediment, and turbidity. 
• A floating barrier can be installed either temporarily or permanently.
• The FTB uses the natural flow of water to bring the trash to the riverbank where it is deployed and from there the trash is manually or mechanically removed.
• The FTB is deployed in eight cities — Bengaluru, Chennai, Puducherry, Hyderabad, Mysuru, Thanjavur, Tuticorin and Coimbatore.
• The FTB is said to be successful in cleaning up the Cooum in Chennai and the Musi in Hyderabad.
• In Bengaluru, it has been deployed in some storm-water drains, and Nagawara and Dasarahalli lakes.

Cleaning and Restoring India’s Water Bodies Challenge

• Cleaning and Restoring India’s Water Bodies Challenge was conducted by the Office of the Principal Scientific Advisor (PSA).
• The challenge was conducted by the Waste to Wealth Mission — Swachh Bharat Unnat Bharat Mission under the Office of the PSA during November 27, 2020 and February 17, 2021.