Two Australians are cleaning up the oceans with their Seabin

When two surfers got tired of sifting through floating rubbish and plastic, they dreamt up an automated rubbish bin that would get rid of floating rubbish, debris and oil.

On the Upcycle blog, we have written about the great work that various people are doing to help save the oceans. From Kelly Slater and his clothing line made from upcycled fishing nets to Adidas and their upcycled sneaker made from ocean waste.

This time, an initiative to help save the oceans is a little closer to home with an invention from two Australian surfers.

Andrew Turton and Pete Ceglinski designed an automated rubbish bin called the Seabin. It can be used for floating docks in the water of marinas, private pontoons, inland waterways, residential lakes, harbours, waterways, ports and yacht clubs. It can even be fitted to super yachts and motor yachts.

The Seabin’s rim sits on the top of the water while there is a shore-based water pump. The Seabin’s pump goes to work sucking in the water, as well as floating rubbish, oil, fuel and detergents. The removable catch bag, made from natural fibre, collects the debris and pumps the water through to an optional oil-water separator before the clean water is finally pumped back into the ocean.

The two Australians have a functioning prototype but have launched a crowdfunding campaign to launch commercial production of the Seabin. The ultimate aim will be to produce future Seabins from the plastic collected from previous Seabin models.

Seabin has just 6 days left on its Indiegogo campaign and has raised US$147,633 (approximately AU$202,800) of its $230,000 (approximately AU$316,000).

Go support Seabin and help these two Australians achieve their goal of cleaning up the oceans one marina at a time.