Envision a pool skimmer in the waters of a boating marina to remove floating litter like wrappers, cigarette butts, plastic bags, and bottles.
That’s the idea behind two newly installed Seabins at the Toledo Skyway Marina at Glass City Metropark. Similar to a pool filter, a Seabin is a floating litter collection device installed directly in calm water areas like a marina, to skim off floating debris from the Maumee River.
On Monday, the staff from Keep Toledo Lucas County Beautiful, Metroparks Toledo, and Ohio Sea Grant installed two Seabins at the Toledo Skyway Marina at Glass City Metropark. The bins are attached to the marina’s main floating dock that runs adjacent to Maritime Plaza at the National Museum of the Great Lakes.
“Litter is where the people are and we try to catch as much as we can,” said Adam Cassi, executive director of Keep Toledo/Lucas County Beautiful. “Whenever we do litter clean ups on land, we find the most litter around shopping centers. So it made sense that there would be a lot of water trash at a marina.”
The bins are also capable of collecting micro plastics, microfibers, petroleum-based surface oils, and detergent, said Sarah Orlando of Ohio Sea Grant, a statewide program that supports greater knowledge and stewardship of Lake Erie and the Great Lakes through research, education, and outreach.
The cooperative agreement between the three organizations made the initiative possible, she said. As manager for the Clean Marinas program, Ms. Orlando provides technical support and educational outreach, while Keep Toledo/Lucas County Beautiful has provided the Seabins, and the Metroparks staff provides the maintenance needed to keep the program going long-term.
“This truly is a partnership. Everybody has a role, and we are grateful to the marina for taking this on to keep trash out of our waterways,” Ms. Orlando said.
An estimated 2,500 tons of litter dumps into Lake Erie annually and a lot of that comes from the Maumee River, Mr. Cassi said.
The Seabin technology was developed in Australia and at an estimated cost of $8,000 each, the Toledo bins were funded through a grant from Keep America Beautiful. It is necessary to keep the receptacles stationary and installed on a floating dock to stay level with the water. And a minimal amount of electricity, about as much as a pool pump, is also needed to run them, he said.
“We know litter is bad for the environment. We know the ocean is filled with plastic, but it really is every single body of water,” Mr. Cassi said. “We consume about a credit card worth of plastic every week in the food and water we ingest and it’s not just [eating] fish - it’s in salt, water, and even beer.”
Other trash trapping devices have been installed in Ohio waterways, but they have different applications and are used for a different purpose, Ms. Orlando said.
The Seabins installed at the Toledo Skyway Marina are the first such receptacles in Lucas County, she said. Nearly two years ago a Seabin was installed at Geneva State Park Marina east of Cleveland. They have also been installed at Catawba Island Club in Port Clinton and at Oasis Marinas at Port Lorain, which is located between Sandusky and Cleveland. Ms. Orlando is also hoping next spring to have one installed at Put-in-Bay.
Seabins have also been installed in marinas in other states, such as Florida, and Ms. Orlando has been in communication with the individuals overseeing those programs for guidance with Ohio’s program. Her team will also analyze the debris collected by the bins to develop education programs designed to change human behavior with the ultimate goal of reducing marine pollution.
“We are working on creating a network of trash trapping devices along Lake Erie in partnership with our clean marinas and our partners to actively remove trash,” she said. “We are fairly new in Ohio, but we are hopeful that by learning from others we can continue the success with this. We need behavior to change, that's the end goal.”
First Published July 31, 2023, 9:35 p.m.
