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Engineers have built a giant 'vacuum cleaner' to rid a Belgian nature reserve of millions of pieces of plastic litter too small to collect by hand.
Port authorities last year launched a competition to design a solution to decontaminate the area, which is home to endangered bird species. The winner: a huge hoover, dubbed the 'Nul-o-Plastic'.
The machine's rubber tyres limit soil disruption, and its suction mechanism is designed to avoid damaging plants. The aim is to pull roughly 7.5 tonnes of plastic pellets out of the reserve. A first test concludes later this month.
Daniella Traino
Jonathan Chrimes