#NaeStrawAtAw
– convincing ferries to cut
plastic waste
Young environmental campaigners from Glasgow
have enlisted Scotland’s best-known ferry
operator, Caledonian MacBrayne, in their
campaign to ban disposable plastic straws.
Known as the Ocean Defenders, the group from
Sunnyside Primary School have highlighted drinking
straws as a classic example of damaging single-use
plastics: unnecessary, wasteful of resources and, in this
case, not even recyclable. They have been promoting their
campaign #NaeStrawAtAw all around Scotland, and
quickly caught the attention of the CalMac community
board.
‘When Sunnyside Ocean Defenders first got in contact
with CalMac last year we knew we needed to hear more
about their campaign,’ said environmental manager Klare
Chamberlain. ‘The company is extremely concerned about
marine litter and the blight it can have on the marine
environment across the west coast. Their Ocean Defenders
group provided both CalMac and the community board
with an extremely informative presentation highlighting
the dangers of single-use plastics and provided us with
samples of suitable alternatives which we could adopt.
‘We have been working with our suppliers over the last
year or so to identify alternatives to single-use plastics,
and with our waste contractors to ensure than any alterna-tives
can be suitably managed. I am delighted that CalMac
Ferries can support #NaeStrawAtAw and ban plastic
straws onboard, and look forward to spreading word of the
campaign across the communities we serve.
‘Our procedures are also changing so that straws are
only available on request. All other sources of single use
plastics on board are also under review and we hope to be
able to announce further changes over the coming
months.’ •
48 SUOMEN MERENKULKU J FINLANDS SJÖFART
Seabin Project – trapping
floating plastics in port
‘If you can have bins on land, then why not in the
water?’ That, says Pete Ceglinski, was the thinking
behind the Seabin, the marine waste-gathering
system he created with his friend Andrew Turton.
Both keen surfers and leisure sailors, they co-founded the
Seabin Project because they were dismayed by the amount
of rubbish building up in the oceans, and have spent the
last three years developing and piloting their cleanup
product.
Now CEO of the Mallorca-based company, Pete has a
background in product design and boatbuilding for the
yacht racing sector, so his expertise was invaluable in the
development of the Seabin. The device is designed to be
moored in a marina or port, sitting just under the water-line,
with a pump at the bottom to pull in floating debris.
This is then trapped in the bin until it can be emptied by
local refuse services and the waste processed onshore.
‘The trick is to place the Seabin in debris accumulation
corners – and everyone working in a marina or port knows
where those are,’ says Pete. ‘One of the most common
things captured by the bins is plastic bags, but we also
trap microplastics down to 2mm in diameter, and there are
oil pads which are very effective at absorbing surface oil.
And if a piece of debris is too large to be pulled over the
rim into the bin, the suction from the bin’s pump will keep
it held against the side until it can be retrieved.’
Another design consideration has been the need for the
Seabin to move up and down with the tide so its rim is
always under the waterline. During the pilot phase, this
has been achieved by mooring the device to floating docks,
but later this year another model will be launched, suitable
for fixed docks. This version will be attached to a vertical
rail attached to the dockside, and will slide up and down
the rail with the tide.
To operate its pump, the Seabin needs to be connected
to mains electricity, but is designed to use as little power
as possible. In future, the company hopes to enhance the
product’s green credentials by operating each unit with a
renewable power source such as a wind turbine or solar
panels, and by increasing the percentage of recycled
plastic in its manufacture.
G The Sunnyside Ocean Defenders on a visit
to the CalMac ferry Caledonian Isles last month.
H A Seabin ready for installation in a marina.
IMAGE: SEABIN PROJECT