Our recent blog on how whales are suffering and dying as their stomachs fill up with plastic waste has had quite a response on social media—and now we are pleased to bring you a little good news.
A Spanish based company has been trialling an ingenious way to help clean up the world’s seas and oceans, called Seabin. The Mallorcan company—run by two Australians—has signed an agreement with a French business to start manufacturing the waste collection device that not only skims plastic rubbish from the water but also removes hydrocarbons such as oil and other pollutants.
The system has been successfully trialled at four locations in the Balearics and is expected to be rolled out to marinas, ports, harbours and strategic river and sea sites around Spain in the coming years.
This is good news for whales and other sea creatures such as dolphins and giant turtles, which have been badly affected by thoughtlessly discarded plastic. As we reported in our previous blog, not only are these animal’s digestive systems at danger of being damaged by the waste, but their stomachs fill up with the junk, leading many to stop feeding and eventually starve to death or succumb to disease as their immune systems are damaged by malnutrition.
If the Seabin system removes enough plastic from the seas to save just a few of these creatures it will have been well worthwhile. Of course, Seabin can only be a part of the solution, as it is not going to be able to clean all the oceans—but if it is adopted around the world it could have a significant effect.
And of course you can do your bit too—remember to dispose of your waste properly and recycle and reuse as much as you can. After all, every little helps.
You can read more about the Seabin project here.
-Dilip Kuner-