The City Cleaner: A Waste-Collecting System for Urban Waterways
A. Belenguer Marti (TU Delft - Industrial Design Engineering)
E. Tempelman – Graduation committee member (TU Delft - Emerging Materials)
A.J.M. van Leeuwen – Graduation committee member (TU Delft - Perceptual Intelligence)
F.J. Jongerden – Mentor (Noria Sustainable Innovators)
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Abstract
Urban plastic pollution is increasingly concentrating in narrow city canals where large cleaning systems cannot operate. This thesis, undertaken with Noria Sustainable Innovators and TU Delft, investigates an alternative: the City Cleaner: a small-scale, community-engaging waste-collector for still-water sites such as canal corners, foot of bridges, and houseboat areas.
Mixed-method research combined site analysis, stakeholder interviews, and two iterative prototyping and testing cycles. Field observations revealed that technical removal alone is insufficient; public visibility and participation are critical to long-term impact. The resulting design is a lightweight floating trap that funnels debris into a submerged basket emptied manually from the shore. Requiring no power or invasive anchoring, the unit can be installed in historical waterways within a couple of hours.
Two week-long deployments in Delft demonstrated reliable capture of floating litter, intuitive ergonomics, and strong public interest. Passers-by photographed, enquired, and volunteered to assist. Compared with conventional solutions, the City Cleaner’s human scale, low cost, and approachable form offer municipalities a dual benefit: continuous litter collection and an on-site platform for education and civic engagement. Private canal-side businesses can sponsor or lease units to showcase environmental commitment, extending funding beyond municipal budgets.
Future work will refine durability, develop modular sizing, and integrate optional data logging and educational toolkits. Scaled as a network, City Cleaners could become a recognisable symbol of collective action against urban water pollution.