Prince Rupert harbour will be a cleaner and greener place thanks to the efforts of Charles Hays Secondary Interact Club with the arrival, on July 15, of six Seabins to remove refuse and debris from the waters.
The environmentally friendly Seabin project has been months in the making by the Prince Rupert Rotary Club youth division, which fundraised for the $54,000 project starting back in October 2020. The youth-led bottle drives, collections at the high school, as well as winning $2,500 in an environmental story contest assisted with covering the costs of the green project.
Community organizations such as Prince Rupert Port Authority, Alta Gas, DP World, Pembina, Northwest Fuels, Bandstra Transportation, Vopak, Prince Rupert Rowing, and Yacht club, and Port Edward Harbour Authority also contributed donations and transportation for the initiative.
The bins will be placed in pairs at the Prince Rupert Yacht Club, Cow Bay Marina, and the Port Edward Harbour Authority.
Each V5 Seabin ‘trash skimmer’ acts as a floating garbage bin. Working on a pump system it skims the water surface of marinas, yacht clubs, ports, and bodies of water within a calm environment. The units will seize floating debris such as micro-plastics, micro-fibers, contaminated organic material like leaves and seaweed.
The Seabin can catch just less than 4 kg of floating debris per day or 1.4 tons per year depending on weather and debris volumes including micro-plastics down to 2 mm small. With the use of absorbent pads, the units are also able to assist with the surface collection of petroleum and detergent-based products found in many marinas.
READ MORE: Bottle drive successful with more collected than can be sorted in one day
