Invention: Flotsam Scoop
Inventors: Sea Scout Ship 41
Inventors’ Location: Bay Village, Ohio, USA

A group of teenagers have invented “Flotsam Scoop”, a device to skim trash from waterways.

Members of the Sea Scout Ship 41 were surprised that no one else had done anything about this problem – that of trash in the waterways. The device which they invented is lightweight and easy-to-use. The existing devices used for this purpose looked like a pool skimmer or like a fishing net, and were not strong enough. So, if you tried to haul something heavy, they broke, or just didn’t work.

The new invention is deceptively simple. It weighs around 5 pounds and is rust-proof. It consists of an aluminum mesh half-bucket at the end of a telescoping square aluminum handle. And it is strong enough to haul heavy loads, like dead fish, out of the water.

The group insists it was a joint effort, with all individuals pitching in with ideas during their brainstorming sessions. A company named Brown-Campbell Co. in Maple Heights, Ohio, donated aluminum, and another company Mansfield Fabricated Products in Mansfield, Ohio built the prototypes for them.

“We have a bright group of kids, very interested in the environment, very interested in helping out,” Richard Gash, the scouts’ adult leader, said.

“It was totally a joint effort on the part of the Sea Scouts,” he said. “In our brainstorming sessions we came up with all sorts of contraptions, and I kept pushing them: ‘We need simplicity. We need ease of manufacture.’ It was an economics lesson for them as well, not just an environmental project. The whole project was a learning experience for the boys and girl.”

They received the $30,000 grand prize in the Interlux Waterfront Challenge, and will use the prize money for upgrading their flagship (Ship 41).