What do you care about? Your health? Your children? The environment? The economy? Whatever you value, you should be concerned about the ocean. Without the ocean’s healthy ecosystem being maintained, the rest of the list is put into jeopardy. Limiting plastic is likely the best way to protect our planet from certain harm. But the fact is that the ocean is already filled with plastic, and much of it is micro-plastic – too small to see or notice; but not too small to enter the marine food web, threatening the health of fish, turtles, sea mammals and even land animals.
Tens of billions of micro-plastic and micro-fibre particles can be found in the marine environment. These tiny bits pose a real threat to ecosystems because they accumulate organic pollutants at far greater rates than other particles. Sea animals mistake the bits of plastic for food and the toxins tend to stay with each of the bigger animals that have eaten the smaller animals. In this way, the toxin-laden plastic can travel up the food chain. This is called bioaccumulation; the toxins can even reach our plates.
One response to this concern is called the Seabin Project. The technology is simple: a bucket-like trap is bolted to a dock with water pump running on shore power. The pump creates a flow of water that sucks all floating rubbish and debris into a natural fibre bag, before pumping the water back out. Thus, it catches all surrounding debris, including micro plastics and micro fibres. The Seabin is more efficient than a marine worker walking around with a scoop net. To add a sweet touch, the bins themselves are constructed from recycled materials.
It took a couple of surfers to invent this simple machine, surfers who kept seeing plastic in the water around them as they enjoyed their sport. Andrew Turton and Pete Ceglinski quit their jobs a few years ago and went full time into research and production of various prototypes. They wanted to find a way to remove not only plastic but also oil, fuels and detergents from the water. Different filters are now available to adapt the bins for whatever the situation calls for.
In fact, with a small adaptation to the standard Seabin filter, the very tiniest of plastic particles will be strained out of the seawater. Research is underway to devise a way to allow the Seabin technology to get off the dock and out into the open sea. Already scientists and governments around the world are using them to monitor levels and types of micro plastics and micro fibres in the water. The Seabin team is also investing in the education of young people, to address the source of plastic that ultimately reaches the sea: Human beings.
Care to know more about Seabins and whether they could benefit our lagoon and harbours? Check out seabinproject.com
