Robot SHARK is deployed in London's Thames river that can collect 1,100lbs of rubbish a DAY

A robotic shark hungry for plastic is to snap up waste in the River Thames as part of efforts to tackle water pollution. WasteShark is the first marine robot to take London's river by storm, with the ability to'eat' up to 1,100lbs of waste everyday - equivalent to 22,700 plastic bottles. The electric shark has been released in Canary Wharf where it can travel through 3.1 miles (5km) of water before needing a recharge. It comes at a time when plastic waste has almost doubled globally since 2000, with only nine per cent of this successfully recycled, according to an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development report. But Britvic-owned Aqua Libra, which is launching the shark, hope to combat this by recycling the collected rubbish wherever possible.