If we can have trash cans on land, why not have them in the ocean? This was the question that gave rise to the Seabin project to collect waste found in the sea through a container that works as if it were an immense floating trash can. One of these devices arrives in Barcelona thanks to ImaginPlanet, the sustainability program of Imagin, the digital services platform promoted by CaixaBank.
Each Seabin container has the capacity to collect 90,000 bags, 35,700 cups, 16,500 bottles, and 166,500 plastic utensils per year. In total, it can collect an annual average of between one and 1.4 tons of waste.
Its operation is simple; it only needs a mooring point and a power outlet. A receptacle similar to a large waste bin is placed at water level and, using a low-consumption electrical system, sucks water from the surface, which then passes through a catch bag located inside, leaving the waste trapped within. Through an incorporated pumping system, the sucked water, now free of waste, returns to the sea. Each container has a collection capacity for 20 kg of waste of all sizes, and even removes fuel residues, and can be emptied several times a day.
One of these devices arrives in Barcelona thanks to ImaginPlanet, Imagin's sustainability program from CaixaBankInside the initiative promoted by ImaginPlanet, the installation of this Seabin device in Barcelona will take place next Saturday, October 16, within the framework of the Barcelona Boat Show, at Moll de la Fusta. Imagin's campaign foresees that a second device will be placed in the Port of Valencia in the coming weeks.ImaginPlanet launches this sustainability proposal in collaboration with Blue Carbon, a global project that fights to protect the sea, reduce CO2 emissions and combat climate change, through the conservation and restoration of coastal and marine ecosystems.
Seabin containers were created in 2015 by Australian entrepreneurs Andrew Turton and Pete Ceglinski, who carried out the first pilot tests in Palma de Mallorca, with the aim of efficiently contributing to collecting plastic and other waste floating in the sea. Currently, there are a total of 860 Seabins installed around the world in more than 50 countries, with an average daily capture of 3.6 kilograms of waste.