Pollution in our Oceans- The Seabin
White Paper Assignment
Jonathan Gunter
Cody Short
Joseph Stearman
English 319
Elif Guler
Abstract
One of the largest problems in our world today is the extreme pollution of our
oceans and waterways. Each day, thousands of tons of trash and plastic debris are
dumped into our oceans. Since plastic does not break down, like most natural
substances, it is left floating in our waters. Unfortunately, these floating plastics become
a meal for many of the animals that inhabit our oceans. This quite often leads to death
because of their inability to digest the plastics. Even if the plastics do not become an
attempted food supply for these animals, they can instead get entangled in them, which
can quite easily lead to the animals’ deaths. The solution to this problem is simple in
concept - eliminate the waste materials. That is where the Seabin comes into play. The
Seabin is a device that can be set up in ports and harbors around the world to stop the
debris from leaving the port, and capture debris that makes it to the port from the ocean.
It does this by simply filtering the water. Floating plastics get sucked off of the surface,
filtered, and captured in the Seabin’s debris collection system, while all marine life
nearby remains unharmed.
Problem Statement
Pollution of our oceans and waterways is a major issue in today's society.
Humanity tends to forget that the earth is 71% water. There are currently millions of tons
of debris already in our oceans, and plastic is the most common form of debris there is.
According to a 2010 study, an estimated eight million metric tons of plastic waste is
dumped into our oceans per year. Plastic does not break down like most natural
substances, so there is no way for our oceans to get rid of it naturally. The marine life
cannot distinguish the difference between plastics and food, so the debris inevitably
gets eaten, which leads to death or injury because of the animal’s inability to digest the
plastics. Furthermore, many animals get trapped in the plastics, which leads to a slow,
painful death for these innocent creatures.
A large portion of the pollution that flows into our waterways starts at inland ports
and harbors. It is here where pollution enters through both commercial and recreational
means. From the pollution that comes from everyday use of aquatic vehicles, to the
people using the water as a source of entertainment, leftover garbage quickly makes it
way out to sea. It is here that the pollution becomes introduced to the wildlife and
causes many different problems. It is obvious that this trash does not belong here, but
what is not obvious how to produce a cheap, robust solution for what has become a
worldwide problem. Ultimately, the best solution would involve a reduction of littering
and the introduction of aquatic vehicles that do not use oil; however, one must realize
that one such solution is not very practical. With this, the real problem becomes how do
we capture the debris that is introduced to the water and take care of it before it
becomes a worse problem?
Essentially, there needs to be some way that allows us to clean up our ocean
and rid it of pollution by capturing any pollutants that try to make it into the system.
Cleaning the ocean sometimes seems like an impossible task due to the sheer massive
lengths of our waters worldwide. A cultural epiphany can occur, however, if society
makes an attempt to dispose of waste properly before it reaches the open ocean.
Description of Solution
The Seabin is a device that helps clean marinas, ports, and docks. By focusing
on this one specific kind of water-location, the Seabin actually provides a solution to
help clean waste in our waters before it reaches the open ocean. The Seabin sits near
the top of the water, where all of the pollution floats, and sucks in everything around it.
The Seabin can collect any type of pollution that floats on the top of the water. This
includes fuel, detergents, plastics, wood, and many other types of debris. There is a
water pump connecting the Seabin to a dock that pumps and filters out the water that
the Seabin siphons in. Trash and debris is then left sitting in the bin. The inner mesh of
the bin can then be periodically emptied into a trash can and disposed of responsibly.
Even small amounts of oil can be collected into the bin to help clean oil damage.
How Seabin Solves the Problem
The Seabin can be set up around the world in ports and harbors. Its mission is to
capture any debris that makes it to the port from the incoming streams or rivers, or any
material that comes in from the sea. It does this by filtering water, siphoning in all of the
plastics from the top. It completes this goal while leaving all marine life unharmed.
Seabin has the potential to become a universal product because of its mission to protect
the waters and its simplicity. It is very easy to use and runs continuously throughout the
week. It is also inexpensive to operate compared to other means of close shore
cleaning like cumbersome “trash-boats.”
The Seabin floats on top of the water in a stationary position and slowly draws in
surface water into its filtration system. This is key because there is a lot of trash that sits
on top of the ocean. The Seabin can collect many garbage items such as old bottles or
plastic bags. The water flows through the system as the motor plays the role of a
diaphragm. The diaphragm pulls the water through the Seabin filter, bringing any trash
with it.
Updates on Seabin
The Seabin has been in testing for nearly four years. It has also relied heavily on
crowdfunding, raising over 260,000 dollars from various donors across the world, all of
which care deeply about the health of our oceans. Recently, Seabin partnered with the
port of Montenegro, a prestigious location for yachting in the Mediterranean. The port
now acts as an ambassador for Seabin, attempting to push the universality and
effectiveness of this innovative product. Seabin is set to make a large impact in the
future despite the many challenges that lie ahead.
Conclusion
With the use of the Seabin around the world we could significantly reduce this
major problem. Our oceans are a major source of food and other supplies that we
utilize. That is why we need to keep it as clean as possible, and protect the creatures
that live in it. By engaging in close-shore waters specifically, Seabin knows what its goal
is and how to do its part in helping clean the oceans. With the help of the Seabin, we
can do our part to make close shore-waters a much more habitable and safe
environment for all marine life.
Motivation
With all of the technological advances in today's society there were many options
when it came to picking an interesting topic for our white paper. Our group decided that
we wanted to investigate a product that could potentially be world changing. One of the
group members mentioned a Facebook video for an Indiegogo campaign they saw. The
product being promoted to potential investors was the Seabin. It seemed to be a
revolutionary product in the war against pollution, so we decided it was the product we
wanted to choose. After further research we realized that The Seabin is truly an
amazing product with the potential to make a huge impact on the world. The only
problem we have run into with it is that there is not a plethora of information on the
product or its implementation because it is so new. We do however, believe that it is a
noteworthy product and is worthy of this white paper.
Works Cited
Ceglinski, Peter. "Cleaning the Oceans One Marina at a Time." Indiegogo. N.p., 14 Nov. 2015.
Web. 01 May 2017.
Gartry, Laura. "Surfers Set to Turn Seabin Dream into Sales Reality." ABC News. N.p., 27 July
2016. Web. 01 May 2017.
Jambeck, Jenna R., Roland Geyer, Chris Wilcox, Theodore R. Siegler, Miriam Perryman,
Anthony Andrady, Ramani Narayan, and Kara Lavender Law. "Plastic Waste Inputs from
Land into the Ocean." Science. American Association for the Advancement of Science, 13
Feb. 2015. Web. 01 May 2017.
Rinkesh. "20 Facts About Ocean Pollution." Conserve Energy Future. N.p., 07 Jan. 2017. Web.
01 May 2017.