According to the article “Seabin using plastic to fight plastics”
(2019), The Seabin Project highlights the consequences of microplastics (2-5mm)
in the ecosystem. It also discusses the benefits of the Seabin as a holistic
solution to the pollutants in the sea. The article mentions that many
sea-creatures ingest microplastics as it resembles their food source with its
size and appearance. Microplastics also gather organic wastes at an accelerated
rate compared to other inorganic particles which have acute detrimental effects
on the marine environment. As a countermeasure, Seabin functions by ingesting
water within its vicinity and traps any detritus through its filtration system.
By integrating sensors into the Seabin, it can double up as a monitoring
device, allowing the Seabin Project to conduct comprehensive studies on its
effectiveness and potential improvements. Because of the accessibility,
simplicity and dynamic functions of the Seabin, it is a favorable method of
marine pollution countermeasures used by governments all around the world.
Despite some of its limitations, Seabin stands out in its own ways in efforts
to reduce water pollution, mainly due to its sustainability in its production
and operations, as well as keeping its efficiency on par with other sea
cleaning products, specifically the Interceptor (Rivers, 2019), in fulfilling
its purpose.
Despite its limitations, Seabin stands out from other sea cleaning
products for its ability to catch microplastics as small as two millimeters in
size. Due to the design of the Seabin, they are unable to collect mass amounts
of debris at each point of time. The Seabin Overview Book (2019) states that
the catch bag can hold up to a maximum mass of 20 kilograms of waste at each
point of time, which adds up to an approximate amount of one and a half
kilograms a day per Seabin. Despite the efforts of redesigning and enlarging
its capacity, it will require many Seabins to collect an equivalent amount of
plastic compared to other products such as The Interceptor from The Ocean
Cleanup project, “50,000 kilograms” (River, 2019) of plastic to be exact. However,
Seabins can capture microplastics down to the size of two millimeters with the
purpose of reducing “the risk to animals by being mistaken for food”,
“eventually reaching our plates” (Seabin using plastic to fight plastics, 2019).
Therefore, they have made up for their disadvantage of being unable to capture
waste in bulk by being able to filter microplastics.
An advantage that Seabins possesses is its sustainability. Although
the Seabins can function by themselves, there is still a need for minimal
manpower needed to maintain Seabins’ operations. According to the Seabin
Overview Book (2019), to maintain a Seabin, it has been advised that they
should be “checked twice a day and emptied as needed” (Seabin Overview Book,
2019). There is also a need for Seabins to be cleaned and checked monthly to
keep it operational and if any of the catch bags are found to be damaged, it
can be replaced instantly just like normal trash bins on land. After the
damaged catch bags are being replaced, they can be recycled into new catch
bags, making it an ecosystem. As compared to their counterparts, the
Interceptor (Rivers, 2019), it would require more manpower as they require
“multiple barge exchanges per day” (Interceptor-Spec-Sheet, 2019).
Additionally, The Seabin Project Website (2020) mentioned that Seabins are
mostly made from recycled ocean wastes and the running cost of a Seabin is only
up to three dollars a day. Therefore, making the Seabin a sustainable solution
to marine pollution.
In addition to its edge, the Seabin is also designed to operate
efficiently. The Seabins “runs 24/7” (Seabin using plastic to fight plastics,
2019) just like its counterparts, the Interceptor (Rivers, 2019), making it on
par in the capability of collecting debris at any time of the day.
In conclusion, there are several exclusive features for both the
Interceptor and the Seabin. However, Seabin has additional advantages over one
of its recognized counterparts, the Interceptor (Rivers, 2019). The Seabin edges
over the Interceptor (Rivers, 2019) by having the ability to filter microplastics
and being a sustainable product with an ecosystem in place, which is absent in
the Interceptor (Rivers, 2019). Therefore, in my opinion, Seabin makes a superior solution to marine pollution.
References
Seabin Project (2019). Seabin using plastic to fight
plastics. Retrieved on February 09, 2020 from https://seabinproject.com/seabin-using-plastic-to-fight-plastics/
Seabin Overview Book (n.d.). Retrieved on February 09, 2020
from https://seabinproject.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/seabin_overview_book.pdf
The Ocean Cleanup
(n.d.). Rivers. Retrieved on February 9, 2020 from https://theoceancleanup.com/rivers/
The Ocean Cleanup,
Interceptor (October 26th2019). Interceptor-Spec-Sheet.
Retrieved on February 12, 2020 from https://assets.theoceancleanup.com/app/uploads/2019/10/191021_Interceptor-Spec-Sheet.pdf
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