Roomba of the Sea

Since January, local waterways have been getting some help from small robotic vessels nicknamed the “Roomba of the sea.”

These small vessels cruise across the water, picking up floating trash and plastic, much like a robotic vacuum collects debris from a floor. Clean Earth Rovers, a growing company focused on keeping waterways clean, has been contracted by the Port of Los Angeles to clean its marinas.

The Port of Los Angeles has 15 marinas throughout San Pedro, Wilmington, and Terminal Island, including Al Larson Marina, Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club, Cabrillo Way Marina, California Yacht Marina, Cerritos Yacht Anchorage, Holiday Harbor Marina, Island Yacht Anchorage, Leeward Bay Marina, Lighthouse Yacht Landing, Los Angeles Yacht Club, Pacific Yacht Landing, Yacht Centre Newmarks, and Yacht Haven Marina.

Marinas can act as collection pockets for trash, with debris accumulating around docks, slips, seawalls, and other calmer areas. The trash does not necessarily come from boaters or the marina itself. Wind and currents can push floating plastics, food packaging, and other debris into protected marine basins, where it can become trapped. Clean Earth Rovers skims these calmer waters, where trash often naturally collects.

Michael Arens, co-founder and CFO of Clean Earth Rovers, conceived the rover while in high school. Plastic pollution caught his attention, and he began wondering what could be done about it. Growing up in St. Louis, the ocean was somewhat out of sight and out of mind, but he created a prototype and continued developing the idea as a student at Xavier University. He later formed the company with help from the 1819 Innovation Hub at the University of Cincinnati. Clean Earth Rovers began working with customers in 2023 and has since cleaned waterways in Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, Alamitos Bay, and Lake Erie.

The rovers go out twice a week to clean the Port of Los Angeles marinas. Since work began in January, they have removed about 2.25 tons of debris from the water. After each cleaning, the trash is measured in gallons and pounds.

The rovers can operate autonomously in certain areas, but at the Port of Los Angeles they are operated remotely. Rover staff walk along the sidewalks and Watchhorn Walk around the marinas while operating the vessels, typically on Mondays and Wednesdays.

Common items removed from the marinas include bottle caps, plastic products, takeout containers, food waste, and backpacks. When Clean Earth Rovers first began collecting debris, the company disposed of the trash. That changed after it partnered with AltaSea tenant Ryan Harris, who runs Earth Conscious Objects by Ry and the Re Up Our Ocean campaign.

The campaign upcycles collected waste into durable goods. Today, debris collected by the rovers is sent to Harris, where volunteers sort the material and turn it into usable products, including surfboards, fins, and other items. What was once floating waste now has a second life.

“There has been a lot of public support and interest in the rovers, and people thank us when they see us cleaning the marinas,” Arens said. “Our goal is to expand and respond to the many issues in coastal waters, including oil spills and other pollution events.”

For San Pedro, the rovers are a positive reminder that innovation and community partnerships can help protect the waterfront. With its deep connection to the harbor and the ocean, San Pedro can continue building a cleaner future for its coastline and for the generations who will enjoy it.

For more information about Clean Earth Rovers, visit cleanearthrovers.com. spt