ÆRC
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Foteini Stamouli, Elina Thermoyanni
Imagine you are vacationing on an idyllic Greek island and someday whilst relaxing by the sea, you witness a floating landfill mooring near the island’s harbor. Neither an island nor a ship, this ark is a waste storage center.
The ark’s route varies between winter and summer time depending on the waste’s quantity. During the summer months, it travels around the Sporades island complex, collecting all kinds of trash and providing the islands’ residents and tourists with an attraction. On the other hand, during winter period its route expands to further Greek marine areas and the Mediterranean Sea, collecting trash not only from the Sporades but also other islands and coastal areas. Then it disposes the trash into various specially designed landfills throughout the mainland.
The procedure is as follows: after the ark has reached the harbor the islanders can throw their trash onto the ark or the trash can be collected by cranes and then be placed in a huge stomach-like dumpster. Underwater trash collection can be achieved with giant leg-like magnets and vacuums that transfer and suck respectively the trash into the giant belly.
