For Our Planet - For Our Future
Today, in honour of Earth Day, we're partnering with i=Change to further support the cleanup of our sea with Seabin. Founded in 2015 from 1 simple question, we spoke to Mahi, CEO of the Seabin Foundation.
Seabin began in 2015 from the simple question if there were rubbish bins on land, why not in the water? - How has the Seabin Project and the Seabin Technology itself evolved since then?
After spending a few years in the prototype phase to bring the Seabin technology to life, the Seabin Project has distributed Seabins around the world where 1100 Seabins can be found across 53 countries.
However, this model of broad distribution of the Seabin units alone has shifted over the past 2 years. We do not sell the Seabins individually - rather we work through City Programs and serviced-based package in urban areas that include servicing and maintenance of the Seabins by our Seabin Enviro Technicians on site, community engagement, education and data monitoring.
The latter is core to the new model as we are now able to track key plastic items collected and water quality to then publish reports that help inform policy-makers and communities to reduce plastic pollution at the source, on land and upstream.
What's the most important piece of information that Seabin has uncovered?
Because Seabins run 24/7 and all year round, they are reflecting any changes in the marine environment over time. This means we can monitor the efficiency of plastic item bans for example, or can locate problematic areas which may be associated with higher pollution rates, such as near stormwater outlets or where microplastic accumulation occurs.
We can also look at weather patterns and identify key location where marine debris accumulates when an easterly wind blows for example. All these details together represent valuable information to map, track and act upon the plastic pollution challenge.
How can the community join and support Seabin?
Communities supporting what we do has always been the driving force for the Seabin Project. People following us on social media and supporting our “100 cities by 2050 campaign” is extremely helpful, even if our current presence isn’t near them, this support means that we may reach our goal faster and make a difference in more urban settings by identifying key problems which are often the same from one city to another.
People can also call/talk/tag key stakeholders like their political representatives, corporates or local businesses who may wish to sponsor Seabins in their waterways.
Our sponsorship and partnerships’ packages can be requested by emailing contact@seabinproject.com. If people work in a business that wish to learn more about what we do, we also offer Corporate Data Days for staff (either on site in Sydney or online with livestream) or STEM lessons for schools, which help us fund the research we do to constantly improve our scientific undertakings and refine our processes for cleaner oceans.
Of course, reducing plastic consumption wherever possible is a great way to help also, or by donating to the Seabin Foundation.
This Earth Day, 22nd April 2022, Marloe Marloe is committing $20 from every purchase to Seabin. Simply SHOP NOW and select Seabin as your charity of choice at checkout.