Nobody wants trash ruining their summer beach days. One organization may have a solution

Milwaukee County shorelines are often littered with trash, plastics and debris, but new technology could create cleaner beaches. The solution? Two robots named BeBot and PixieDrone.

Milwaukee Riverkeeper is a science-based organization working toward creating swimmable and fishable local rivers. Milwaukee's rivers feed into Lake Michigan, affecting the water quality of local beaches such as Bradford and Atwater.

Milwaukee Riverkeeper is using the robots in hopes of removing litter from the rivers and beaches. Bebot targets beach litter while the PixieDrone focuses on debris in the water.

How do the robots work?

BeBot targets litter on the beach by sifting through the sand to collect trash and plastic debris. PixieDrone navigates through the water to collect debris that is floating at the surface. Drone operators use controls and cameras to locate and collect debris.

Where does the debris go?

After the trash and plastics are collected, volunteers sort through the litter and put it into a category based on size, type and brand. Data from litter collected is sent to programs such as Great Lakes Plastic Cleanup.

"Combining data from around the Great Lakes provides the information necessary to make predictions about the sources and amount of litter entering the Great Lakes. This data will hopefully inform policy and management solutions to address this issue over time," Milwaukee Riverkeepers said on its website.

Where and when will the drones run?

During summer, the drones will be sent out weekly to either a local beach or river. This is subject to change based on weather and availability of staff.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Nobody wants trash ruining their summer beach days. One organization may have a solution