Seabins keep waterways clean

The City of Melbourne is using floating rubbish bins to stop litter washing into the Yarra River at Docklands.

Lord Mayor Sally Capp said five “Seabins” have been installed at Yarra’s Edge Marina following a successful trial earlier this year.

“Unfortunately, an estimated 1.4 billion pieces of rubbish flow into Port Phillip Bay from the Yarra and Maribyrnong rivers each year,” the Lord Mayor said.

“Using Seabins, we can collect up to 200 kilograms of rubbish a day. The Seabin units catch cigarette butts and plastic packaging as well as oil, detergent and micro plastics that can’t be seen by the human eye.”

“A Seabin is the size of a domestic rubbish bin and works like a pool skimmer. It floats on the water’s surface and collects litter using an underwater pump.”

The Seabins are emptied twice daily and data is sent to Seabin Foundation’s Pollution Index and Tangaroa Blue Foundation.

The data helps monitor the impact of debris along Australia’s coastline and informs the City of Melbourne about litter reduction.

These include street-cleaning, litter traps, water sensitive urban design, and stormwater capture.