Inspector Seabin is a garbage bin for the water.
Much like its counterparts on land, the Inspector helps keep garbage out of the environment by intercepting trash that has made its way into the water ecosystem.
Garbage is collected in a mesh bag that floats in the seabin, where it is trapped until volunteers come and collect it.
There are currently three Inspector Seabins in Fathom Five National Marine Park in Tobermory, Ontario.
Inspector Seabin is at work from mid-May to mid-September.
Between mid-May and mid-September 2022 three seabins were deployed in the Fathom Five harbours at Tobermory. (One in Big Tub at the Marine Operation Base, one at the Fuel Dock in Little Tub, and one at the main dock in Little Tub.) A study was undertaken to find out just what is in our water!
A team of 20 local citizen science volunteers provided all of the ground work for this study, which included:
- daily monitoring of each seabin at each location,
- emptying of the seabins and disposing of the collected debris,
- measuring the collected debris and submitting Simple Waste Characterization reports through a dedicated phone app,
- performing a total of 18 Detailed Waste Characterizations in accordance with ITTN protocol and submitting this data to the University of Toronto Rochman Lab.
Inspector Seabin is able to collect a variety of trash. Its mesh catch bag can hold large items like 500mL plastic bottles and small items like plastic pieces, film fragments, and cigarette butts. The seabin can collect micro-plastics as small as 2mm.
It also collects organic material, like algae or leaves, that may be contaminated with chemicals.
The Inspector’s mesh bag can hold up to 20 kg of litter.
Seabins skim the water, floating up and down with the currents and wind patterns. Water is pumped through the bin, which pulls the litter into it when it approaches the lid. Seabins work best in calm water.
How can I keep plastic out of waterways?
Everyone knows that loose trash is terrible; what a lot of people don’t know is how terrible it is. Especially plastics. Plastic pollution has a big impact on the world in many ways – the chemicals they release, the effect it has on wildlife big and small, its impact locally in our Great Lakes and its impact globally on climate change. We want to help combat the pollution any way we can, and we’d like your help.