London’s first Seabin to spark green wave in UK waters

London’s first Seabin has been launched at a special event at the Good Hotel, an award-winning, environmentally conscious venue at the Royal Victoria Docks, in association with Butterfield.

Just a handful of Seabins are currently in place in the UK, but with London’s first already providing instant results, plans are in place to get many more installed around the country. During the launch event, Seabin Project CEO David Turton confirmed that the team are working on getting Seabins into a number of other locations in London already.

As well as waterways and fixed and floating marinas, The Seabin Project is also looking into working with house boats and motoryachts.

The Seabins – described as the “debris-sucking saviours of the ocean” in a Guardian profile – are floating waste interception devices which can be installed in ‘problem areas’ of marinas, ports, yacht clubs and virtually any body of water with the necessary infrastructure (just a 110/22V outlet) and a calm environment.

A combination of currents, tides and winds draws items towards the Seabin. Water flows in from the surface into a catch bag inside the Seabin, with plastic bags, bottles, disposable cups, straws, microplastics (down to 2mm) and various other pieces of rubbish being caught inside. 1.5kg of floating waste can be caught per day, with over half a tonne able to be captured annually. Harmful oils can also be ensnared and stored by the Seabin.

A submersible water pump, capable of displacing up to 25,000 litres per hour, draws the water through the bag to be filtered, with litter and detritus left inside while cleaner water is released back into the surrounding area.

A number of ports and marinas across the world currently feature Seabins, including the likes of Porto Montenegro and Port Adriano – both of which are designated ‘pilot partners’.

Antonio Zaforteza, CEO of Port Adriano, said in a statement, “Being a pilot partner is more than just a statement, it is about playing an active role as a first mover in the global challenge to rescue and protect the oceans we love so much.”

The Ellen McArthur Foundation predicts that by 2050 plastic will outweigh fish in the world’s oceans – which would cause devastating and potentially irreparable effects to ecosystems and food chains across the globe. If just half of the marinas around the world installed three Seabins, then up to 30 million tonnes of plastic could be eliminated annually.

For more information, visit the The Seabin Project.