Tutukaka Marina SeaBin

“WE HAVE RUBBISH BINS ON LAND, WHY NOT HAVE THEM IN THE OCEAN?”

The installation of a SeaBin in the Tutukaka Marina is the culmination of a two year collaboration between Ocean Spirit, Tutukaka Marina Management and Trust Board, the Interact Club at Huanui College, Glenbervie and Whangarei City Rotary Club. It represents another valuable step in the Tutukaka Coast Plastic Free Initiative.

The SeaBin has been made financially possible by the phenomenal fundraising efforts of the Interact Club students at Huanui College and by sponsorship from the Whangarei City Rotary Club.

Students Pippa Benton and Lagi Paul, 2018 Interact Club organisers, were so inspired by a presentation given to Huanui College in 2017 by Ocean Spirit, that they committed to fundraising for the Tutukaka Seabin, supported by Whangarei City Rotary Club.

Pippa chose the Seabin as her science project for the 2018 National Secondary Schools Science Fair. She regularly monitored the Tutukaka Marina Seabin’s activity, conducting a weekly survey of its contents. Pippa is passionate about the ocean and is a keen diver. This is a wonderful educational opportunity for her and for The Seabin Project, who are committed to education as the most effective long term solution to ocean pollution.

What’s a Seabin?

A rubbish bin that sucks in floating marine litter, micro plastics, surface oil and pollutant spills.
Moving up and down with the tide, it sucks in water, catches any floating rubbish in a catch bag and pumps pollution-free water back into the marina.
It can trap roughly 1.5kgs of floating debris per day (depending on weather and debris volumes), including micro plastics down to 2mm small.
Five years of research and development have gone into its design
It evolved from a passion for the ocean held by two avid surfers, Andrew Turton and Pete Ceglinski, who quit their jobs to develop it.

Pete and Glenn — Glenn gives Pete a copy of his book, The Ocean is Alive, in the Viaduct Harbour, Auckland.

Ocean Spirit is thrilled that the Tutukaka Coast is playing its part in the growing worldwide awareness of the need to change our relationship with plastic.

Launch video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjjYgSlBzLU&t=12s

This following series of 5 videos explains how we process what’s been caught by the bin and then enter the information onto data sheets:

Video 1
https://youtu.be/J9WuoIoD2Os

Video 2
https://youtu.be/MjJcqodPwxM

Video 3
https://youtu.be/XpsPEq7rkIU

Video 4
https://youtu.be/sNbtupZa3o4

Video 5 https://youtu.be/pXBNrNqxvfA

The Seabin has steadily removed human-generated rubbish that finds its way into the marina, which in turn means less pollution for the ocean to deal with. Data sheets are used to record the amount of rubbish collected in a variety of different categories, such as: cigarette butts; plastic food wrappers; clear plastic packaging; foam pieces; fishing gear; plastic bottles etc.

As we all know, the SeaBin is not the solution to human-generated marine debris – we are! But this sort of information shows us where the majority of the rubbish is coming from and gives us the evidence we need to make the practical changes necessary to minimise rubbish polluting the marina and ultimately the ocean.

It’s well known that every plastic item ever manufactured is still in existence – albeit in a very degraded and broken down state.

There are many un-sung heroes who walk the planet’s beaches everyday picking up rubbish. But our litter is everywhere – swept by heavy rain and picked up by strong winds it can too easily find its way into the ocean.

It requires all of us to take more responsibility for disposing of our rubbish and more importantly for reducing our pervasive use of plastic.

We are grateful o the Tutukaka Marina Trust Board, Whangarei City Rotary Club, Huanui College and Mitre 10 for their contributions towards the SeaBin.

If you happen to be on the Tutukaka Coast, please visit the SeaBin on B pier in Tutukaka Marina, Northland and watch it in operation.

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2 years of our SeaBin

The Tutukaka Marina SeaBin has been removing floating rubbish from the marina for almost 2 years. Although it is not the solution to preventing rubbish from entering the marine environment, because we are, it has a two-fold purpose:
1 to remove floating rubbish
2 to act as an educational tool to inspire changes in our behaviour
Number 1 is self explanatory.
Number 2 has taken the form of education and awareness raising amongst the local community.
Since its installation in April 2019, all the rubbish collected has been categorised and logged onto spreadsheets, which form an on-going record of the different types of rubbish turning up in the marina. Initially the rubbish was then disposed of, but for the past year it has been collected in separate labelled containers and used for educational display purposes.
From the very beginning, a team of Huanui College students from their Interact Club have been consistently assisting Te Wairua O Te Moananui-Ocean Spirit volunteers to sort the rubbish collected, categorise and log the results onto spreadsheets.
For some, this has enabled them to get signed off on the community aspect for their Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award. For others it has given them an outlet for their love of the marine environment by contributing to a more healthy ocean. And for all of the students involved, it has engendered a sense of responsibility and inspired positive changes to
theirs, and their family’s behaviour.
Ngunguru School students have also benefited from the SeaBin. Their Earth Education group – Kete Aronui – visited the SeaBin in action and then participated in sorting the rubbish collected, under the guidance and leadership of the Huanui College team. Year 5 & 6 have had an educational morning analysing all the past year’s collections!
Te Wairua O Te Moanaui – Ocean Spirit has displayed the collections at the Matapouri Gala, Tutukaka Twilight Markets and Ngunguru Gala. This works as an educational tool by showing the quantities and types of rubbish that are appearing on our coast, with the intention being to inspire positive behaviour changes.
The Tutukaka Coast Community owes many thanks to the following for making the SeaBin possible:
The Tutukaka Marina Trust Board
Whangarei City Rotary Club
Huanui College
Mitre 10
Te Wairua O Te Moananui – Ocean Spirit
Please visit the SeaBin on B pier and watch it in action!

Matapouri Gala Day 2nd January 2020

The Trust was fortunate to have a stall at the Matapouri Gala day on 2 Jan. We met some lovely people who care about the health of the Ocean. It was particularly inspiring to meet enthusiastic youngsters who are translating their passionate caring into action.

We had the rubbish collected by the Tutukaka Marina SeaBin on display – all sorted into separate containers. It’s not the solution, but it still helps to make a difference.
Any rubbish on land or in the Ocean is only a reflection of our carelessness and disrespect for our incredibly beautiful life support system – Mother Ocean Earth.

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