How do you remove the mass amounts of rubbish in Australian waterways? ‘Put a rubbish bin in the water!’

 

That was Pete Ceglinski’s simple solution to rubbish-filled waterways when he launched the concept of Seabin in an attempt to clean Sydney Harbour. Since then, these impressive bins have filtered 9.2 billion tonnes of water, caught 122.5 tonnes of microplastics, and removed 22.5 tonnes of marine litter from our waterways.

Initially, Seabin focused on selling these impressive bins before soon realising there was also potential in the information they collect. The Seabin team began gathering data on the types of waste accumulating in these bins, marking a pivotal shift in their mission as this data could inform new policy, support legislation, and lobby polluters to stop acting like environmental fools.

In this episode of Act Local, Cam Doyle found a beachside park bench in Pete’s hometown to sit down and hear how, what started as an ‘obvious solution’ to the rubbish in our waterways, shifted to a business delivering nature-positive impact data to corporate clients worldwide.

Check out other episodes of our YouTube series, Act Local, to learn about a whole bunch of other local legends taking action on climate change and sustainability.

 

Feature photo supplied by Seabin

This article is part of Act Local, our project to champion grassroots conservationists who are getting their hands dirty and having a positive environmental impact in their local communities. Check it out!