Criterion D Science

The Seabin: Pollution free water bodies!

8
Background Information

Marine ecosystem provide important services such as food, medicines, and habitats. Marine Commented [IC1]: Type of ecosystem identified.
ecosystems are among the largest of Earth's aquatic ecosystems. They include oceans, salt
marshes and intertidal ecology, estuaries, lagoons, mangroves and coral reefs. Coral reefs are the
most diverse of all marine ecosystems. Coral reefs are shallow- ocean habitats that are filled with
sea creatures. Coral reefs are composed of individual polyps embedded in a limestone skeleton.
Coral reefs play a major role in the marine ecosystem. They provide protection and shelter for
many different species of fish. Without coral reefs, these fish are left homeless with nowhere to
live and exposed to their predators. Corals are very important in controlling level of carbon
dioxide is in the ocean water. Without these corals, the amount of carbon dioxide in the ocean
water would rise rapidly and that would affect all the living things. In addition, coral reefs
protect the coasts from strong currents by slowing them down before it gets to the shore. Commented [IC2]: Delicate balance between biotic
and abiotic described.
However, there are many threats that are faced by coral reefs. One of the major threat faced is
plastic pollution from land and shorelines. Plastic has become an integral and important part of
our lives today. Plastic is used everywhere, for bottles, wrappers, containers, etc. We often forget
the consequences plastic poses to our marine ecosystems and their surrounding environment.
Plastic that is disposed in the bin eventually enters the ocean. Plastic is not biodegradable which
poses more threats to the marine ecosystems and most importantly coral reefs. Each year, an
estimated 18 billion pounds of plastic waste enters the world’s ocean from coastal regions. When
sediment and other pollutants from plastic materials enter the water, they suffocate coral reefs,
lower the water quality, speed the growth of damaging algae. Plastic also makes corals more
susceptible to disease and affect coral growth and reproduction which causes changed in food
structures of these reefs. (“ Marine ecosystem - SEG Wiki, “ n.d.) & (Editors, 2017) Commented [IC3]: Good
Threat of plastic pollution described

Commented [IC4]: Good use of in text citation.

Next time avoid bold

Image One:
Coral reefs filled with
fishes
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The Seabin: Pollution free water bodies!

Commented [IC5]: Good use of captioned diagrams

showing plastic pollution.

Image Two:
Coral reefs depleted by
plastic waste

Application of science
The Seabin is a floating rubbish bin made from recycled polythene plastic that sucks all the
floating debris which is mostly plastic bags, wrappers and more. The Seabin is designed to be
located in marinas, decks, commercial ports, yacht clubs because of the controlled environment
with no ocean storms or high currents. The Seabin has been designed for use in marinas and
ports into which ocean pollution is often swept by tides, wind and storms. The Seabin catches an
estimated 1.5 Kgs of floating debris which mainly contains of plastic bottles, wrappers, plastic
bags per day. The water pump creates a flow of water into the Seabin bringing with it all the
floating debris and trash. The debris/trash caught in the catch bag which is composed of a natural
fiber cloth and the water is sucked out at the bottom of the bin. Once the catch bag is full, it is
replaced with a new one after disposing the debris responsibly. Thereafter, it is brought back up
to the water pump where it is pumped back into the marina. (“Seabin Project / SEABIN USING
PLASTIC AGAINST PLASTICS, “ n.d.) Commented [IC6]: Good
Scientific solution described.

Image Three:
Diagram
showing
Seabin
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The Seabin: Pollution free water bodies!

Image Four:
Diagram showing how the Seabin
works

The Seabin has its advantages and disadvantages. Some of the strengths are that the Seabin
minimizes the human efforts to collect rubbish or floating debris from the water bodies or ports.
Secondly, the waste collected in the Seabin is responsibly disposed of without causing harm to
the marine ecosystem or the coral reefs. The Seabin offers a very low cost and needs very little
maintenance which means it can be reused it until it wears out. Besides, the Seabin can easily fit
it the corners of the marinas, ports without causing hindrance to the boats or ships that are
docked and works 24/7. Some of the limitations are that the Seabin includes a water pump
which requires electricity to function, the use of this electricity 24/7 could lead to carbon
emissions which could increase rates of global warming. Another limitation could be that a
Seabin can not be used in large open oceans because of the waves and high currents. ("Seabin
Project | SEABIN PROJECT’S “WHOLE SOLUTION” PROPOSAL FOR OCEAN
CONSERVATION AND SUSTAINABILITY," n.d.)

The world factor that is affected by the Seabin is the environmental factor. Some of the positive
effects of the Seabin is that it not only sucks up the floating debris but traps the other waste from
the coastlines and bays too! The Seabin not only acts like a plastic waste skimmer but it cleans
water from contaminated materials like seaweed, marshes, salts. In fact, the catch bag of the
Seabin is made of reusable natural fiber cloth that is woven, this allows the Seabin to trap micro
plastics down to 2mm, which means the Seabin is able to trap the micro plastic particles more
efficiently. The Seabin also has the potential to collect a percentage of oils and pollutants
floating on the water surface. Besides all the positive effects on the environment, the Seabin
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The Seabin: Pollution free water bodies!

cleaning technology also has a negative impact. The Seabin contains a water pump that runs on
electricity 24/7. This electricity is produced through the burning of fossil fuels, which can bring
in large emissions of carbon dioxide and can increase global warming.

In my opinion, the Seabin technology is devoted to help solving the issue of plastic pollution in
the marine ecosystems which affects the coral reefs. The Seabin is a revolution in the marine
ecosystem cleaning technology. This solution is devoted to help create cleaner marinas, decks,
harbors and commercial ports with healthier marine life and coral reefs. The Seabin technology
has helped solve the issue of plastic waste pollution and has lead to cleaner and pollution free
marinas, ports, waterways and water bodies. With the help of the Seabin technology, coral reefs
are able to reproduce and live without pollution and suffocation. I strongly believe, the Seabin
technology was invented to solve the problem of plastic waste pollution and play a big role in
marine conservation. The Seabin technology has the potential and capability to reduce plastic
debris, other sediments, trash from entering these delicately balanced marine ecosystems like the
coral reefs. Commented [IC7]: described the ways in which
science is applied and used to address a specific
threat to the health and existence of an ecosystem

discussed and analyzed the implications of using

science and its application to solve a specific threat to
the health and existence of an ecosystem, interacting
with a factor

consistently applied scientific language to

communicate understanding
clearly and precisely
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The Seabin: Pollution free water bodies!

Bibliography Commented [IC8]: Title it as references

Seabin Project | SEABIN USING PLASTIC TO FIGHT PLASTICS. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://www.seabinproject.com/seabin-using-plastic-to-fight-plastics/

Seabin Project | SEABIN PROJECT’S “WHOLE SOLUTION” PROPOSAL FOR OCEAN

CONSERVATION AND SUSTAINABILITY. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://www.seabinproject.com/seabin-projects-whole-solution-proposal-for-ocean-conservation-
and-sustainability/

Seabin: Floating invention filters plastic pollution out of marine waters (Video). (2015,
December 31). Retrieved from https://www.treehugger.com/sustainable-product-design/seabin-
floating-invention-filters-plastic-pollution-out-water.html

Cleaning the oceans one marina at a time. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/cleaning-the-oceans-one-marina-at-a-time

Plastic is 'killing corals? by increasing risk of disease in reefs, say scientists. (2018, January 26).
Retrieved from https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/plastic-pollution-coral-reefs-
disease-damage-seas-oceans-cornell-university-a8178156.html

Our Plastic Is Hurting Coral Reefs. (2018, May 29). Retrieved from
https://particle.scitech.org.au/earth/plastic-trash-the-new-threat-for-coral-reefs-worldwide/

Marine ecosystem - SEG Wiki. (n.d.). Retrieved February 25, 2019, from
https://wiki.seg.org/wiki/Marine_ecosystem

Editors. (2017, June 8). Marine Ecosystem - Definition, Food Chain and Quiz | Biology
Dictionary. Retrieved from https://biologydictionary.net/marine-ecosystem/

Commented [IC9]: Documented sources

completely.
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The Seabin: Pollution free water bodies!

Image citations

Image One:
A scuba diver's message: 'Stop using plastic'. (2017, August 24). Retrieved from
https://news.sky.com/video/ocean-hero-akhil-jude-square-mk-mov-11003553

Image Two:
Plastic is 'killing corals? by increasing risk of disease in reefs, say scientists. (2018, January 26).
Retrieved from https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/plastic-pollution-coral-reefs-
disease-damage-seas-oceans-cornell-university-a8178156.html

Image Three:
Marine Debris: How long until it's gone? - SAFETY4SEA. (2018, April 25). Retrieved from
https://safety4sea.com/marine-debris-long-gone/

Image Four:
Seabin 3 - Southport Yacht Club. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://www.southportyachtclub.com.au/seabin-project-syc-marina/seabin-3/

Book citation:

Chapman, J. L., & Reiss, M. J. (1999). Ecology: Principles and Applications. Cambridge,
England: Cambridge University Press.

Sheppard, C., Davy, S., Graham, N., & Pilling, G. (2017). The Biology of Coral Reefs. New
York, NY: Oxford University Press.
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The Seabin: Pollution free water bodies!

LEVEL Arya, you were able to:

8
i. describe the ways in which science is applied and used to address
a specific threat to the health and existence of an ecosystem

ii. discuss and analyze the implications of using science and its
application to solve a specific threat to the health and existence of an
ecosystem, interacting with a factor

iii. consistently apply scientific language to communicate

understanding clearly and precisely

iv. Document sources completely.