A Seabin, funded by dredging specialist Boskalis Westminster, has been installed at MDL’s Hythe Marina Village as part of the marina’s ‘binfrastructure’.

An award-winning piece of technology, the Seabin acts as a floating rubbish bin, specifically designed to be installed in marinas, yacht clubs and harbours.

“Alongside our dredging activities, we operate a fleet of 26 workboats all of which operate from marinas, so we see first-hand the types of rubbish floating around our waters,” says Gary Sanders, marine manager at Boskalis. “We felt we needed to take action in some way.

“We’ve been organising beach clean-ups for quite some time and were shocked to see the amount of plastic waste washed up on our local beaches. This got us thinking of ways to capture this waste before it posed a serious threat to the local wildlife. It was one of our CSR working group that stumbled across the Seabin Project, this was then discussed at one of our regular meetings and we were pleasantly surprised to see how much rubbish it could capture on a daily basis.”

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 costs as little as 80p a day to run.

With its UK head office located in Fareham, Hampshire and with many of its projects along the central south coast, Boskalis chose the Southampton Water based Hythe Marina Village to be the recipient of its generous donation.

“We like to pursue opportunities which will have a positive impact in the areas where we operate,” continues Gary. “We have recently completed dredging works at the Port of Southampton and are currently engaged in a coastal defence project at Southsea. With the marina’s proximity to our projects and offices, we felt Hythe Marina Village was the most suitable location for the new Seabin.”

Made from recyclable materials, the Seabin sits in the water and moves up and down with the tide, collecting floating debris. Water is drawn in from the surface by a submersible water pump and passes through a fine mesh catch bag inside the Seabin.

Installed in the East corner of the Hythe Marina Village, the marina team hopes that its new addition will raise awareness of the scale of waterborne litter. “We are delighted with our Seabin, and to be part of such a fantastic project,” says Dave Lewis, marina manager.

“Every marina, river and canal has a problem with rubbish, most of which has originated elsewhere or been blown off the land. We’re hoping that our Seabin will help highlight just how big an issue litter is for our waterways. It was really easy to install too – every marina should have one.”

The Seabin is supplied in the UK and Ireland by Inland and Coastal Marina Systems. For more information please visit www.inlandandcoastal.com/seabin

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