Environment

Ocean-friendly Seabin sucks up surrounding sea trash

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The Seabin is a basically a water filtering system designed for contained marine environments
The Seabin is a basically a water filtering system designed for contained marine environments
The team has developed a functioning prototype
The Seabin is installed on a dock and plumbed into a shore-based water pump
The Seabin was dreamt up by two Australian surfers who had grown tired of taking to the local waters amid floating plastic and rubbish
Some of the trash hauled in by the Seabin
Installation in ports and marinas sees this ocean-friendly trash can suck up the surrounding debris and even remove oil from its water
The Seabin is installed on a dock and plumbed into a shore-based water pump
Installation in ports and marinas sees this ocean-friendly trash can suck up the surrounding debris and even remove oil from its water
The Seabin is installed on a dock and plumbed into a shore-based water pump
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The mounting plastic waste in the world's oceans has been the subject of of some pretty bold environmental undertakings, perhaps none more so than the Ocean Cleanup Project aiming to eradicate the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The Seabin Project represents a smaller-scale approach, but it is noble in its aspirations all the same. Installation in ports and marinas sees this ocean-friendly trash can suck up the surrounding debris and even remove oil from the water.

Dreamt up by two Australian surfers who had grown tired of taking to the local waters amid floating plastic and rubbish, the Seabin is basically a water filtering system designed for contained environments like yacht clubs, marinas and ports. Without needing to contend with stronger currents and ocean storms, here it can chip away at pollution in visible areas where there is plenty of human activity

It is installed on a dock and plumbed into a shore-based water pump. With the rim sitting even with the surface of the water, the pump sucks water into the bin and brings the surrounding trash, oil and detergent along for the ride. A removable catch bag made from natural fiber then gathers the debris and the water is pumped through to an (optional) oil-water separator, before being fed back into the ocean once cleaned.

The Seabin is installed on a dock and plumbed into a shore-based water pump

The team has developed a functioning prototype, and says that it hopes to eventually produce subsequent models with the plastics collected from previously installed Seabins. It has turned to Indiegogo to raise funds for commercial production, having raised more than US$75,000 of its $230,000 goal at the time of writing. It is offering the Seabins for an early pledge of US$3,825, with shipping slated for November 2016 if all goes to plan.

You can check out the pitch video below.

Source: The Seabin Project

View gallery - 9 images
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7 comments
Bob Stuart
If this were wave-powered, we'd really have something useful. I love the notion of making bins from the plastic they catch.
the.other.will
This appears to be a good idea, but what does it do with small sea creatures?
StWils
Nice first try at a complex problem, however the guys need to continue to refine this to arrive at a design that is substantially to completely wave, flow, or wind powered. Also it is imperative to limit the amount of machinery & controls to keep the price tag at a desirable & affordable level and also to limit the amount of user interaction. As soon as the novelty wears off opening, servicing, emptying, etc, will just be seen as a burden and this is precisely why so much crap just gets ignored in the first place. However, still, this is a nice first pass. Keep up the good work!
Les.B.
The ocean plastic is a problem asking for a robotic solution. With the enhancements mentioned in other comments, this could be a life saver for the oceans.
science ninja
why not use the plastic sea trash as fuel for boats?
Brendan_Wilding
The SeaBin is NOT ocean friendly. It generates 750kg of CO2 per month - far more pollution that it can collect. I have asked the creator to defend their product and claims by addressing the issues I show here: https://goo.gl/CQA0Vw.
DennisA
And so we have what appears to be an energy inefficient small scale device that will encourage wealthy users of marinas to believe that it's even more ok than before to chuck their trash overboard? Only in a social media world drivelled forward by the thrill of gawking on small screens at cute guys with suntans can this be real.