“There are bins on land, so why not in our waterways’’ – that’s the sentiment behind Newcastle’s latest Seabin installation at Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club on Thursday.
The floating ‘trash skimmer’ is the second to call the marina home, the first welcomed in December 2021.
During its first three months in the city, the Seabin V5 has captured approximately 572kg of marine litter, or 9,360 pieces of floating debris, macro and micro plastics, and even micro fibres.
The bin, which filters more than 600,000 litres of water each day, is regularly emptied by five local volunteers twice a week.
Installed as part of a grant by the Newcastle Ports Community Contribution Fund, the seabin acts as a floating rubbish bin, skimming the surface of the water by pumping water into the device.
Equipped with oil absorbent pads, it is designed to absorb petroleum-based surface oils and detergents, found in the waters of marinas, yacht clubs, ports and any water body with a calm environment.
Seabin Project’s head environmental technician Tom Batrouney, who is based in Mullumbimby, says the project now needs further community commitment to progress.
“For Seabin to be a success in a new area we need support from the community, local business, and government,” he told the Newcastle Weekly.
“Our presence in Newcastle is growing because of the huge support.
“We know the water in Newcastle is in very poor condition in some areas and it’s time to work together to paint a picture about what we are up against so we can tackle it.
“There is also great surf in Newy so we would love more excuses to be in the area.”
Mr Batrouney says Seabins globally filter approximately 78 million litres of water each year.
“A single Seabin unit can capture up to 20 kilograms of marine litter and organic matter in its catch net,” he says.
“The catch net is housed within the Seabin unit and the average catch globally, over a typical 24 hour cycle, is approximately 3.9kg.”
The Seabin Project is hosting a series of community engagement activities and STEM education lessons in Newcastle.
For those interested in getting involved in a STEM lesson, data collection workshop or to volunteer in the group’s Global Citizen Science program, email: [email protected]
The Seabin Foundation is the group’s not-for-profit fundraising arm, addressing education, research and innovation projects that result in cleaner oceans.
Since 2015 the group has set in place a 50% for profit and 50% non profit activity business model.
Within its framework it claims to be “working towards turning off the tap to plastics entering our waterways. Because if you cannot turn off the tap, how will we ever clean up the mess?“
For more stories like this:
- Council launches new program on Global Recycling Day
- Unmasking Clean up Australia Day
- Trash, Tunes and Treasure in Merewether
Get all the latest Newcastle news, sport, entertainment, lifestyle, competitions and more delivered straight to your inbox with the Newcastle Weekly Daily Newsletter. Sign up here.
