Robotic BIOremediation for coastal debris in BLUE Flag beach and in a Maritime Protected Area Marine Protected Areas and Artisan Fishing Integrated management through environmental awareness and education
The BIOBLU project aims to make an innovative contribution to the removal of waste from beaches through an analysis of the state of the local environment and the promotion of a new management approach based on new technologies and available new knowledge. The innovative method consists of a kit with high level of technology and automation, based on a deep learning process, which will recognize waste remotely (via drones), allow its collection in a robotic way and facilitate its disposal in compacting bins in a separated way. The project will be implemented on two pocket beaches, small beaches limited by natural headlands. In addition, thanks to the physico-biological analysis of waste, its origin will be determined through an integrated current detection system, and it will be determined the impact that microplastics in particular have on the faune in order to assess its impact on the food chain. With regard to the two marine protected areas, the project has the following objectives: 
1) to quantify the negative impacts caused by the presence of plastics and microplastics on the trophic chain; 
2) to reduce plastics in protected areas with an automatic system;
3) the development of a plastic free management model and a diffusion campaign.