The quiet sucking sound you hear at Oak Bay Marine Group’s North Saanich Marina is the sound of the ocean getting a little bit cleaner.
The marina is the first of Oak Bay’s properties to install a Seabin at one of its docks. A Seabin is a floating garbage bin designed to collect floating debris, garbage, micro and macro plastics and floating petroleum products. Using an electric pump, the bin acts like skimmer by drawing in water and intercepting floating debris, from large chunks of plastic and foam to micro plastics and micro fibres.
The debris is then collected and disposed of.
Brook Castelsky, chief operating officer of the Oak Bay Marine Group, said they’re thrilled to have the bin in action as they have been making strides to reduce their environmental footprint. “It has really become very important for our clients and our crew,” he said. “So we have taken a number of steps to lessen our impact. I think that’s important for any business nowadays.”
The group is currently reviewing all of its environmental initiatives and will be taking part in the annual Great Canadian Shore Clean-up.
Castelsky said the bin has been in place for a week and they have been impressed with its work.
“There’s been nothing too strange [caught], but you are seeing the impact it’s having every day and that really is neat for our crew and our customers to see it in operation and see what it has collected,” he said.
The bins are designed to catch up to 3.9 kilograms of debris daily, about 1.4 tonnes a year.
And they have their work cut out for them. The Seabin Foundation estimates there is as much as 20 million tonnes of plastic dumped into the oceans every year.
It says it has deployed more than 700 bins at marinas around the world that have collected about 115,000 kilograms of debris so far.
The $7,000 Seabin is also equipped with pads to absorb petroleum-based surface oils and detergents that are found in marinas.
Oak Bay Marine Group believes it’s the first to get a Seabin on the West Coast, and hopes to expand its use around its other B.C. marinas, including Pedder Bay, Oak Bay and Ladysmith. They are testing the bin and determining how efficient it is and how many of them they would need to handle all of the debris at any of its sites.
“Although the Seabin is only a small part of Oak Bay Marine Group’s environmental sustainability action plan, we feel that even the small steps we take today will lead to a healthier ocean tomorrow,” the company said.
