Cork Council installs ‘robot trees’ to battle pollution in the city

A group of ‘robot trees’; have been installed in Cork in a bid to battle the city’s air pollution.

The Cork City Council has had five of the €350,000 a year CityTrees erected on St Patrick’s Street and the Grand Parade.

The technology of the trees works by absorbing 80% of the fine dust particles in the air around them.

The CityTrees are covered in special mosses which actually trap harmful pollutants.

Cork City Council annunced on Twitter: “The first of our CityTrees were installed today on St Patricks Street. CityTrees help combat fine dust particle pollution and other pollution associated with traffic congestion.

“CityTrees do not replace our trees but complement them. We are planting 1,300 trees in parks & communities in 2021,” it continued.

The health and future of our planet has become a huge topic in recent years and various countries have made great steps to find ways to reduce pollution and find sustainable sources of power for future generations.

David Joyce of Cork City Council was part of the team that took the decision to have the robot trees installed in the city’s busiest streets.

He explained that they do not serve as a replacement but an addition to normal trees as they work in a different way to clean the surrounding air.

Joyce said: “Cork City Council has plans to plant 1,300 trees in 2021 alone. We have planted thousands of trees in recent years.

“A CityTree is a completely different entity than a normal tree. A normal tree you plant… will convert carbon dioxide into carbon and oxygen… will store the carbon in the tree trunk and release the oxygen back into the atmosphere.

“A CityTree is very, very different. It targets particulate matter in the atmosphere – dust in effect, that comes out from internal combustion engines in vehicles and the burning of fossil fuels.

“The moss eats the dust, and therefore cleans 80% of the dust out of the air.”

“They do have an impact – they are a proven technology. This is not something that has been dreamt up overnight.”