|
SEABIN
- MEDIA REVIEW
MIAMI
MARINA - Stainless steel super bin: Peter Ceglinski, left, and Andrew Turton invented the Seabin device, which traps garbage floating around marinas and docks.
Nice one dudes.
MARCH
30 2016 - THE GUARDIAN - BRAIN WAVE, THE SURFERS WHO
MADE A TRASHCAN FOR THE OCEAN
By now, reports that our oceans are turning into swirling garbage dumps should come as no surprise. There are some 5.25tn pieces of floating plastic debris in the oceans right now, and it’s estimated that some 8m metric tons of plastic waste enter global waters every year. A researcher recently likened it to lining up five grocery bags of trash on every foot of coastline around the world. The
US is adjacent to the largest of the five ocean “garbage patches” – it’s estimated the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, which extends from the coast of North America to a few hundred miles off the coast of
Japan, contains some 480,000 pieces of plastic per square kilometer.
Now, two surfers from Australia say they may have the solution. Peter Ceglinski and Andrew Turton have invented a device they call the Seabin, a kind of submersible garbage can that siphons and captures floating debris.
The Seabin works similarly to a filter. Picture a submerged cylinder, with the upper opening just below the water surface. An electric pump draws water through the bottom of the cylinder, creating a vortex around the upper edge that pulls in water and floating trash. A bag filter, made of natural material like a coffee sack, collects the trash and allows water to pass through.
To date, Ceglinski and Turton have raised $267,000 in an Indiegogo campaign to help build the device, and recently signed a contract with French company Poralu Marine who will take over manufacturing. Prototypes are currently in testing, and the surfers say they expect to have the first production models installed by the end of this year. (There’s no current estimate on how much the a Seabin unit will cost, since the device is still in development.)
“I’ve surfed all around the world,” Ceglinski says. “I’ve been in tropical islands that look like picture-perfect postcard sort of stuff. And then you hit the beach and it’s like the world’s just full of trash. You’re in this beautiful place, enjoying yourself, and your hand touches, like, a condom or a used sanitary pad, and it just kills it, you know? It shouldn’t have to be like that.”
THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEM
Ceglinski and Turton’s invention isn’t the first attempt to help tame the ocean trash problem. Regular coastal cleanup events are organized worldwide to keep beaches free of trash and prevent garbage from drifting out to sea. Governments and corporations are also working to reduce plastic debris at the source by minimizing product packaging. Yet these efforts have been underway from decades – and the problem continues.
That is why Nicholas Mallos, director of the Trash Free Seas Program at the nonprofit Ocean Conservancy, sees promise in the Seabin. To his knowledge, it is the first attempt to create an active trash-collection device for the marine environment.
“We need a wide spectrum of intervention strategies,” says Mallos, whose group, based in Washington DC organizes coastal cleanup events around the world. “The simplicity of the design, and the fact that marinas and these enclosed systems lend themselves well to the type of technology they are proposing is a recipe for success. Is this going to solve the global problem? No. But it’s certainly one piece of a broader solution.”
Ceglinski and Turton’s initial target for the Seabin will be coastal marinas. Marinas are a highly visible source of ocean trash. Plus, the aquatic environment of a marina is far more predictable and controlled than open waters, and there are already maintenance employees around who can check and empty the filters on a regular schedule.
In a marina setting, the Seabin will be suspended from a dock, where electricity is readily available for the water pump. More sophisticated filters can be attached to the pump to capture hydrocarbons, like oil and fuel that often leak from vessels – a growing concern for many marinas.
Ceglinski says they’ve had “hundreds” of inquiries from marinas worldwide who are interested in using the Seabin. The first production installation is planned at a marina in
Portsmouth, UK, currently home to the Land Rover-Ben Ainsley
America’s Cup sailboat racing team. Ceglinski and Turton also plan to launch a “pilot ports” program to test the Seabin in different marina environments. The first pilot port will be Le Grande Motte, a large harbor on the
Mediterranean near Montpelier,
France.
“We thought we’d start small and local and address the problem closer to the source,” Ceglinski says. “Most of the trash that goes into the oceans comes from us – from the streets, the land, and into the rivers. So if we can stop it as close to the land as we can, it’s going to be a lot more effective.”
MIAMI'S
TRASH WATERS
The Seabin also offers additional benefits for marinas. For one, floating garbage is always a turnoff for the well-to-do yachting set, requiring marinas to deploy a variety of labor-intensive trash-collecting strategies. Plastic trash can also clog cooling-water intakes on vessels, potentially causing expensive engine damage. And masses of trash can even restrict leasable mooring space.
Stephen Bogner, marinas manager for the city of Miami, Florida, said trash is the “most significant problem” at several of the city’s marinas. He estimates only 10% actually comes from marina users – the rest arrives from the vast urban areas on shore.
The problem is particularly acute at Miamarina, a showplace harbor in the city’s downtown, where large urban stormwater outfalls empty into the marina itself. “Every time in rains, we have all of this land-based floating plastic trash – bags, bottles, paper plates, forks – that wash out from the land and are deposited into our basin,” Bogner says. “Consequently, we need to go out in our small boats with crab nets and pluck the shit out of the water.”
Bogner has already tried using net pens of various types to capture the trash at the stormwater outfalls before it can disperse throughout the marina. But these have not proven durable enough to withstand heavy stormwater surges and severe weather. Across Biscayne Bay, Miami Beach hopes to be the first city in the US to take part in the Seabin pilot project.
“We’re ready to start now – as soon as they can get them to us,” said Miami Beach city commissioner John Elizabeth Aleman.
Miami Beach occupies a series of barrier islands across from Miami. Numerous canals and lakes meander among these islands, creating a natural gathering mechanism for floating trash. One in particular, known as Lake Pancoast, is located in a popular tourist area. “Because of the topography, litter collects pretty severely in that area and it is visible to some of our most beautiful hotels,” Aleman says. “Our visitors see right into that canal, [and] it’s not consistent with what we consider to be our product: a beautiful natural environment.”
But before the Seabin can be installed in some marinas, Ceglinski and Turton will have to work out a way to get around the aquatic plant problem. Miami in particular is home to large growths of native seagrass, which drifts into the harbor and coagulates with the trash. This could rapidly clog the Seabin and render it ineffective.
“That floating seagrass – literally there’s tons of it that comes through,” Bogner says. “So what we do is, we just pick the trash out of the seagrass and then let the tide and current wash the seagrass back out to sea.”
THE CHALLENGE OF MICRO
Another concern is aquatic wildlife. It is possible that fish and other creatures could be drawn into the Seabin. But because a fish would remain in the water within the Seabin, Ceglinski said it is unlikely to be killed. It could simply be tossed back into the water when a marina employee comes around to clean out the filter bag.
Similarly, the filter bag is intentionally designed from coarse material so very small marine life – such as fish eggs – will simply pass through. However, this leads to another problem: it means the Seabin is unable to capture microplastics.
Microplastics are created when larger plastic trash breaks up in the water. They are also manufactured as abrasive particles (known as “microbeads”) to be used as an additive in cosmetics. These are a growing concern because they are ingested by marine life.
“This is another future challenge we have up on the wall,” Ceglinski says. “We have the tools to do it. We just have to find out what the repercussions would be and what size mesh to use, because we don’t want to affect any marine life.”
Going solar
Ceglinski and Turton hope to expand the Seabin beyond marinas. It may be possible, for example, to modify the device to operate at beaches or enclosed bays. It could be integrated into existing channel marker buoys in many coastal shipping zones. It may even be workable in the open ocean, where decades of discarded bags, wrappers, containers and thousands of other
human products now drift interminably.
To help reach that goal, Ceglinski and Turton are developing a
solar powered model of the Seabin, so that it can operate untethered to land and is not reliant on carbon-emitting fuel sources.
“We’d like to get into the open ocean, but probably not for the next couple of years,” he says. “We really want to have this project be as sustainable as we can make it.”
By Matt
Weiser
ROTTERDAM -
Another waste project in the Netherlands. Boyan Slat's ocean
cleanup project team deploy a test boom in the harbour. Despite the logistical problem of setting up a boom several hundred
metres long in the open ocean, they plan to give it a shot later this
year in the Korea
Strait.
INDIEGOGO
- JANUARY 8 2016 - $267,667USD total funds raised
(115%)
Seabin Pty Ltd was founded by Australians Andrew Turton and Pete Ceglinski, supported by a seed investment by Australian marine technology development company Shark Mitigation Systems Pty Ltd (SMS). SMS has technology partnerships with Google and Australian telecommunications company Optus, and is on a pathway to IPO listing on the Australian Stock Exchange.
Seabin Pty Ltd Director Andrew Turton is an Australian boat builder, sailor and surfer who conceived the Seabin concept after numerous sailing trips around the world and witnessing the amount of pollution that amasses in the marinas.
Co-Director Pete Ceglinski is an Australian industrial designer and surfer. Commencing his industrial design career in injection-moulded plastic products, in 2004 Pete crossed over to the yachting industry, catalyzing the collaboration with Andrew on the Seabin venture.
The design and development of the Seabin project is based in Palma Mallorca,
Spain at the design center “The Sea” a factory space set up for creatives. The Sea has office and meetings space, an events gallery and a workshop area ideal for the Seabin project.
The Palma Mallorca location is important for the Seabin project, being the central hub of Europe’s marine industry and also having quick international access.
The Seabin project is in the final prototype phase with intensive product testing in the “Real Club Nautic” marina and yacht club based in
Palma Mallorca.
November 2015, Seabin Pty Ltd is commencing a crowd funding campaign seeking donations to provide additional seed capital for the commercialisation of Seabin.
POSSIBLE
RISKS and CHALLENGES
We have spent a long time perfecting and developing the Seabin protoype and have minimalized a lot of risks through hard work and dedication. However we also understand there will be design and material modifications in our quest of producing the most sustainable product we can afford with our budget. We have given ourselves a realistic delivery date being mid to late 2016 to begin shipping. If this project goes big than the risk is maybe we will be slightly later as we may need to upgrade our production line to handle the orders.
We aim to be completely honest of where we are with the project, we feel we owe it to our supporters. If we suffer a set back we will let you know, maybe one of our supporters has the solution!
Our biggest challenge will be if this project goes through the roof with high orders placed then we need to turn to more sustainable methods of producing the Seabins. We have contingency plans and designs in place if this happens (fingers crossed)
MANUFACTURING
We have a great facility set up at “The Sea” where we make nearly everything in house ourselves. But for the first run of the Seabins we will need to outsource some components and already have suppliers here in Europe on standby to start producing when we give them the green light. We will then assemble everything local.
FULFILLMENT
We aim to start shipping mid to late 2016. If we can ship beforehand even better, but we want to be realistic. We anticipate a month or so of tweaking and refinement of the final product. We want to be sure you have the perfect product.
To reach our goal we anticipate we need to supply 50 Seabins. We feel this is also a realistic goal in this time frame. Again, if the project hits the big time then we need to step up the manufacturing and may take a little longer. But be rest assured that fulfilling our supporters are our first priority
For the other perks, it will be shipped out quickly. No dramas there.
SEABIN DEVELOPMENT
We have spent a lot of time,
energy and
money developing the prototype to the best we possibly could. However there is always room for improvements and modifications.
We want to build the Seabins in the most sustainable and responsible way we can afford and to reduce our carbon footprint as much as possible.
Put short, the more money we can raise the better we can build the Seabins and the more efficient they will be.
Imagine building seabins from recycling our own captured plastics and materials to build more Seabins. Now that would be something!
Something even bigger would be a world where we don’t need the Seabins.
The Ocean Ambassador perk.
EXCLUSIVE CAMPAIGN PRICE OFFER NOT AVAILABLE OUTSIDE OF INDIEGOGO.
Be a true innovator for your marina or yacht club. Pre order your Seabins today. Seabin technology will put you ahead of the rest for the problem of ocean plastics and pollution in your marina. Anyone can purchase a Seabin for their local marina or yacht club or water way of their choice. The Seabins work with floating docks or pontoons only at this stage.
Help us reach our goal and we will begin production early. The moment we hit our goal we will give the green light on tooling! The earlier we get there, the earlier you get the Seabins!
We understand that the Seabin offer is not for everyone.
So we have some other great options for people that want to get behind the Seabin project and make it a reality.
We have targeted the "Ocean Ambassador" perk to marinas, yacht clubs , harbors, lakes, canals, private pontoons and rivers. Also for yacht,
motor boat or even business owners that would like to donate Seabins to their local marina or yacht club.
Any donation is greatly appreciated and the payment system Paypal accepts anything from $1.00 to $50,000.00
OTHER GOODIES
TRUCKER HATS
Rock these trucker hats and you will be the talk of the town! Not only will you look sharper and more appealing, you are supporting cleaner oceans of the future and keeping the sun out of your eyes at the same time!
Incredible hey!
Get yours today and tell your friends!!!!! We are running out of time!!!
T
SHIRTS
These T shirts are a collaboration of CLEANOCEANPROJECT.ORG and Seabin project. They are made from recycled polyester, organic cotton for mens and Bamboo , Organic cotton for womens.
For each T shirt "C.O.P" gets a percentage of the sale to help clean up beaches and other environmental causes here in Europe.
CANVAS PRINTS
Extra large canvas prints
-
1.4 x 0.9 meters these prints are amazing! "Spring angel" and "Manta Ray"
Large canvas prints -
0.9 x 0.6 meters These prints are still big! "Sunset tube" and "Beach shack"
A3 & A4 size posters -
These posters are amazing and will look great on your walls!
Choose from "Sunset tube", "Spring angel", "Floating can", "Manta ray", "Beach shack" and "surfers"
SEABIN Q & A
Q: Can someone pay out the Indiegogo campaign and if so what would we get?
A: Yes! We need help! We would arrange an exclusivity offer and also involve the donator in the testing and development phase “pre shipping” Say for instance City of Montreal or City of Paris or London paid out our crowd funding campaign we would offer them option of “World first City to install Seabins”, And also the publicity of being involved in testing and development phase.
This option is open to Marinas, Ports and yacht clubs also. Also eternal thanks from Seabin project!
Q: Who buys these Seabins?
A: The Seabins are not for the everyday person. Marinas ports and yacht clubs are the target market. They will purchase and maintain the Seabins, providing a service that benefits the everyday people, oceans and sealife by removing trash from our oceans and waterways.
Q: How do Seabins work in tidal areas?
A: Seabins at present are designed for floating docks and pontoons.
Q. How are the pumps run? Do you have any other plans to power them?
A. The pumps are currently electric, costing around $20 a month to run. We are looking into alternative eco friendlier power sources for the near future!
Q: When are the Seabins available?
A: Seabins will be available for shipping late 2016
Q. What are your plans for the future? Bigger ones?
A. The possibilities of what we can do if we get some smarter brains involved are endless! This is just the beginning!
Q: What do the Seabins cost and how do we get one?
A: The Seabins are available as a pre order through Indiegogo only. The Indiegogo price is USD$3,825.00 for a unit. Details through the link above.
Q: Do any fish get sucked into the Seabins? What about smaller marine life?
A: We have never caught a fish or marine animal in 4 years of testing Seabins. We also have a meeting with a marine Biologist on the 22nd Dec to start a study into the microscopic marine life.
Q: I don’t have any money to donate, how can I help?
A: Don’t worry! Your amazing anyways and thanks for even contacting us. We need help to share this project around with any media we can. Social medias like facebook, instagram, twitter, websites, bloggers. Also with newspapers, magazines, tv, radio and journalists. Also friends and family!
Here is the link to share around.
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/cleaning-the-oceans-one-marina-at-a-time/x/12701729#/
Q: Can I invest and are you looking for agents and distributors?
A: We are open to expressions of interest for investors, agents and distributors. Send us an email with your details and
CV and we see what we can do. Email is pete@seabinproject.com
SEABIN SUPPORTERS PACKAGES
$2 USD
The $2 buzz perk
Anything counts and we have had a lot of people mention they cannot afford $25 but really want to donate! So here it is! if you can afford the $2 Thank you! If not, Thank you anyways for checking out our project! Please share this campaign around if you can!
2582 claimed
$15 USD + Shipping
supporter 4 perk
- One A4 certificate
840 claimed
Estimated delivery: February 2016
Ships Worldwide
$25 USD + Shipping
Supporter 3 perk
- One A4 print of your choice - A4 certificate
950 claimed
Estimated delivery: February 2016
Ships Worldwide
$35 USD
Trucker Hat
Rock these trucker hats and you will be the talk of the town! Not only will you look sharper and more appealing, you are supporting cleaner oceans of the future and keeping the sun out of your eyes at the same time! Incredible hey! Get yours today and tell your friends!!!!! We are running out of time!!!
309 claimed
Estimated delivery: April 2016
Ships Worldwide
$50 USD + Shipping
Supporter 2 perk
- A3 print of your choice - A4 Certificate
281 claimed
Estimated delivery: February 2016
Ships Worldwide
$100 USD + Shipping
Supporter 1 perk
- One "Friends of the sea" T shirt - A4 Certificate
477 claimed
Estimated delivery: March 2016
Ships Worldwide
$200 USD
Silver perk
- One large canvas of your choice - One "Friends of the sea" T shirt - A4 certificate
97 claimed
Estimated delivery: March 2016
$500 USD
Gold perk
- One extra large canvas of your choice - One "Friends of the sea" T shirt - A4 certificate - Social media thankyou
36 claimed
Estimated delivery: March 2016
$1000 USD + Shipping
Friend of the sea package
- Two extra large canvas prints - Two "Friends of the sea" T shirts - A4 Certificate - Social media thankyou
9 claimed
Estimated delivery: March 2016
Ships Worldwide
$3825 USD
OCEAN AMBASSADOR
CAMPAIGN PRICE ONLY! - A sturdy & stylish Seabin made from 70%-100% recycled Polyethylene plastic - Your name or logo of choice on the bracket.(visible on dock) Exclusive offer. - Rotational molded manufacturing - Sustainable design - Marine grade alloy bracket - 2 x natural fibre catch bags - 2 x Stainless steel bag handles - 110 or 220 volt water pump. 1 -1.5 Hp (size and model to be announced) - Installation manual - 100% recyclable construction Shipping not included in price
8 out of 50 claimed
Estimated delivery: November 2016
SUPPORTERS
Shark Mitigation Systems, Sail-World.com, Newport Shipyard, Royal Club Nautico Palma, Moll Vell, The Inertia, Sailing Anarchy, American Sailing Association, Laird Hamilton, Southern Fried Science, The Echo newspaper, The Northern Star newspaper, Dive Planit, Complete Marine Freight, The Sea, Scuttlebutt, Dukes restaurant, BonaOna Mallorca, Clean Ocean Project, Brad Robertson, Stu Barry, Sascha Chapman, Zero Eye Photography.
SEABIN
CONTACTS
Carrer Nicolau de Pacs, 42
07006 – Palma de Mallorca
Tel.: +34 694 44 26 05
Website:
http://www.seabinproject.com/
Email:
pete@seabinproject.com
IT'S
NOT SPORTING
- It could soon be dangerous to swim in a sea filled
with toxic plastic waste. Ocean ally, Bluebird
Marine Systems is pioneering eco robots
that can vacuum up plastic waste and offload while at sea, by
coupling with a converted bulk carrier called a PlastiMax.
LINKS
& REFERENCE
pete@seabinproject.com
https://www.facebook.com/The-Seabin-project-927473997320061/
http://www.seabinproject.com/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/35343519
http://www.sharkmitigation.com/
Daily
Mail UK science technology the ocean VACUUM sucks rubbish oil
waterways Seabins trap floating debris coastlines
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-12-20/seabin-designed-by-australian-surfers-to-start-cleaning-up-ocean/7044174
http://www.treehugger.com/sustainable-product-design/seabin-floating-invention-filters-plastic-pollution-out-water.html
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/cleaning-the-oceans-one-marina-at-a-time#/
http://twitter.com/matt_weiser
http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2016/mar/30/seabin-ocean-pollution-epa-marina-miami-garbage
|
