(Barrie, ON) – This morning, Mayor Alex Nuttall was joined by MPP Doug Downey and Christopher Hilkene, CEO of Pollution Probe, to discuss a new partnership to do more to clean up Lake Simcoe. As part of the City of Barrie joining the Great Lakes Plastic Cleanup, an initiative of Pollution Probe and the Council of the Great Lakes Region, the Barrie Marina will have the opportunity to pilot a new drone technology, called a PixieDrone. The PixieDrone is a remote-operated, mobile waste collector capable of navigating various bodies of water to remove floating debris, including organic, plastic, metal, and paper. Its use in Barrie this season is a first for the Great Lakes Plastic Cleanup in Canada.
"‘Kempenfelt Bay is the jewel of our city, and protecting it remains a top priority for this Council,” shared Mayor Alex Nuttall. “The addition of this PixieDrone will allow us to take an innovative approach to keeping our lake clean. Our waterfront is not just a place of natural beauty, but a vital part of our City’s identity and economy. With the addition of this new PixieDrone, we’re taking important steps to preserve it for future generations.”
The City of Barrie Marina partnered with Pollution Probe earlier this year on their Great Lakes Plastic Cleanup. In addition to the opportunity to pilot the initiative’s new PixieDrone, the Barrie Marina was provided with other trash-trapping technologies such as Seabins, and supported with trash audits attended by community members and the collection of critical data on what is removed from the water. Through the use of the Seabins, on average, about 76 pieces of trash were collected from Lake Simcoe each day this season. The new drone technology will allow for even greater amounts of plastic to be removed.
“We are excited to be working together with the City of Barrie to further our collective efforts to end plastic pollution in Lake Simcoe and the Great Lakes region.” said Christopher Hilkene, CEO, Pollution Probe. “The addition of the first PixieDrone to our Great Lakes Plastic Cleanup network of capture technologies in Canada will allow us to remove significantly more plastic from the environment and to tackle plastic pollution in even more locations and communities.”
In June 2023, the City began using Seabins and floating booms at various marina locations to remove waste from Lake Simcoe. The floating booms are located at the Bunker’s Creek and Kidd’s Creek culverts and Seabins are located at the seasonal and transient marinas.
The Barrie Marina was the first marina on Lake Simcoe to receive the internationally recognized Blue Flag award and has maintained this prestigious eco-tourism label since 2015. To achieve and maintain the Blue Flag rating, a series of stringent environmental, educational, and safety-related criteria must be maintained.
Visit barrie.ca/marina for more details.
