World’s First Debris-Sucking “Seabins” Installed in the UK

World’s First Debris-Sucking “Seabins” Installed in the UK

A “floating rubbish bin”, the first commercial Seabin in the world, which removes rubbish from the sea has been deployed in the Solent, near Portsmouth.

As scientists debate how the world’s seas and oceans might be picked free of plastic trash (hint: no one knows), two Australian surfers, Pete Ceglinski and Andrew Turton, have embarked on the journey of installing the world’s first Seabin in Portsmouth (UK) harbour that sucks plastic, oil, and other debris from the water.

The trash bin unit is a floating debris interception device designed to be installed in the water of marinas, yacht clubs, ports and any water body with a calm environment and services available.

Ceglinski and Turton created the bin after finding out that existing methods of clearing up the ocean were both expensive and ineffective. “Trash boats” with nets built into

them will commonly be driven around harbors and marinas, and marina workers will even walk around with nets scooping up rubbish manually.

It is estimated at catching an estimated 1.5 Kgs of floating debris per day, weather, and debris volumes depending. This equates to over a half ton of debris per year for each Seabin.  The mesh in the catch bag is made of a recycled plastic mesh. The Seabin is installed in a specific “Debris problem area” in the marina on a floating dock and then because of this strategic positioning, the wind and the currents bring the debris directly to the Seabin. The catch bag can hold up to 12Kgs of debris and it is advised that the Seabins are to be checked twice per day and the catch bag changed as needed.

A percentage of oil can be captured with simple oil absorption technology adapted custom for the Seabins catch bag. As the technology develops, the number of oils the Seabins will capture will increase in parallel.

The bin is powered by a small submersible water pump underneath it which uses either 110V or 220V. Extensive testing with a 12V pump found it unsuitable in performance and the solar capabilities much more difficult than using the 110/220V pump. The water pump may be run by cleaner power options such as solar, wind, wave or turbine depending on the location, current technology, and services available.

Its currently the water pump energy consumption is around USD$1 per day and as the Seabin technology develops the inventors hope to lower the carbon footprint as much as possible.

One of the backers of the crowdfunding campaign was Land Rover Ben Anslie Racing, a British yacht racing team that has become the company’s first customer and is now installing the world’s first commercial Seabin. It is fitting the device to its pontoon in Old Portsmouth, England, where it expects it to remove half a tonne of debris from the waters each year, along with oils and detergents.

“The collaboration with Seabin forms part of the team’s on-going drive to become the most sustainable sports team in the world,” said Jo Grindley, Land Rover BAR CMO/ CCO. “The ocean is our playground and when opportunities come along to partner with exciting and innovative projects, such as the Seabin, we are really keen to support and work together to help improve the health of the oceans.”

“The team at Seabin acknowledge that the real solution to ocean plastics and littering is not technology, but education, science, research,” says Pete Ceglinski, CEO, and Co-Founder of Seabin. “The innovative Seabin project is also a tool to inspire and engage the next generation, with the ultimate goal to live in the world without the need for Seabins.”

Seabins will officially go on sale in early November and will cost around £3,000 ($3,957).

Pete and Andrew hope to install them nationwide in conjunction with local businesses and yacht clubs.