A new invention has been installed in the waters of several European ports to help fight the growing problem of plastic pollution. This ingenious way to help remove tons of rubbish is called Sea Bin, and it collects and disposes of all manner of debris including bottles, plastic bags and cigarette butts. Each unit has a capacity of up to 12 kg per day, which means it can collect the equivalent of 20,000 plastic bottles or 83,000 plastic bags every year. Two Australian inventors, Pete Ceglinski and Andrew Turton, created this device to be more efficient than existing solutions. Most harbour cleaning is done by boats that are expensive to run and maintain. The Sea Bin is silent, non-polluting and very efficient.

It is made of a large fibre net that is linked to a dock-based pump. It works by creating a circular flow of water that attracts all of the nearby floating rubbish, which is then caught in the net. The bin collects debris as small as 2 mm, and it also absorbs floating oil to help protect marine life. The inventors say that, while the bins are a relatively small step in the grand scale of things, they see it as part of a positive trend. “Sure we can’t catch everything right now, but it’s a good start.” The Sea Bins are currently installed in Mallorca’s Port Adriano, Portsmouth in the UK and the Port of Helsinki in Finland... with more on order.