In the article, “Seabin using plastic to fight plastic”, Seabin Project states that micro plastics and micro fibers threaten marine ecosystems as they accumulate pollutants rapidly and animals could mistake them as food. The threat is so severe that the UN has called for action. The Seabin Project (2019) uses Seabin technology, which is designed to remove pollutants such as micro plastics and micro fibers in the water with a small adaptation to the standard Seabin filter. According to the Seabin Project, with some modifications to the standard Seabin filter, monitoring and sampling pollutant contents will be cheaper and more time efficient as compared to the standard method of using a “manta trawl” to collect samples, runs continuously, and is also shown to be equally effective. Besides developing technology to better intercept pollutants, the Seabin project also invests in education and scientific initiatives to reduce the amount of pollutants in the ocean.
Although it does not collect as much waste as compared to using traditional methods, it is however more cost-effective in combating micro plastic pollution, and has a greater community outreach as compared to other clean-up projects.
One of the advantages of using Seabins is the lower operating costs required. According to the article “Seabins want to be the garbage cans of the ocean”, the cost of each Seabin was “approximately $4,100 each”. With the cost of each Seabin being affordable and with minimal labour required as compared to traditional methods, this would allow a greater deployment of Seabins across coastal areas, and in turn increase the amount of marine waste collected before they accumulate in open waters.
Another advantage of the Seabin Project is the community outreach of the project. According to the Seabin Project, there has been support from universities and environmental groups globally, with renowned environmental engineers involved to help correlate the data collected, and other partners that are also involved in developing new technologies to improve the Seabins. Additionally, there are programs to encourage the youth to tackle the issue through lessons and hands-on activities. Finally, there has been crowdfunding kits available in countries such as Ireland, New Zealand and Australia that not only allow Seabins to be deployed, but also act as a “communication platform for educational programs and community events”. This shows that the Seabin Project is not only taking an active role in educating the youth about the plastic pollution issue, and inspiring them to help develop solutions in the future, but also collaborating with environmental groups to improve on the solutions.
There are however, other projects that are able to provide a better solution to combating plastic waste. The Ocean Cleanup Project is such an example. The project employs a passive clean-up system to tackle the plastic pollution. Consisting of a floater at the surface to provide buoyancy and a skirt below to trap the waste, it is used to capture plastics through the use of the wind, waves and currents. Once a sea anchor slows down the system, a vessel is then periodically dispatched to remove the plastic. As compared to the Seabin Project, it has the ability to capture more plastic pollution than a single Seabin could, it shows that the Ocean Cleanup Project is more effective in combating plastic pollution.
To conclude, despite the limitations of the Seabins to collect large amounts of plastic pollution, it is however affordable to operate in large numbers and has a greater community outreach as compared to other clean-up projects. Such a combination will not only tackle the plastic pollution, but will also encourage people to play their part.
References:
Seabin using plastic to fight plastics. (2019, February 8). Retrieved February 9, 2020, from https://seabinproject.com/seabin-using-plastic-to-fight-plastics/
Myers, M. (2018). These garbage cans could clean up the oceans for us. Retrieved 9 February 2020, from https://www.cnet.com/news/seabins-want-to-be-the-garbage-cans-of-the-ocean/
The Ocean Cleanup. (2019, December 12). Oceans. Retrieved February 10, 2020, from https://theoceancleanup.com/oceans/
Pang Yong Xun MEC 1281 Effective Communication 