Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, 5 December 2019:
The fight against plastic pollution in our local waters is getting an important boost, with the installation of a new Seabin in Ocean Village Marina, Southampton.
We are delighted to announce the installation of a new Seabin in Ocean Village Marina, Southampton. The award-winning piece of technology is located in the North East corner of the marina, where prevailing winds cause the most litter to accumulate.
This Seabin represents a collaboration between several local organisations as part of our project Secrets of the Solent, which is supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and will install a network of Seabins across the area. This one has been funded by DP World Southampton and will be maintained by MDL Marinas, who operate Ocean Village Marina. We have assessed the suitability of the site and will be installing an information board explaining the technology.
The Seabin sits in the water, attached to a pontoon, and moves up and down with the tide. By drawing in water from the surface and passing it through a fine mesh bag, it will catch floating litter such as plastic bottles and microplastics as small as 2mm in diameter. A single Seabin can collect up to 1.4 tons of litter each year – the equivalent of 90,000 plastic bags or 35,700 disposable cups – but can cost as little as 80p a day to run.