CTV NEWS COVERS MARINAS PARTICIPATING IN THE GREAT LAKES PLASTIC CLEANUP

Nov 10, 2020

CTV News crews were in Midland, Ontario to document the operation of Seabins at some of the Maple Leaf Marinas locations in Georgian Bay.

Recently, Boating Industry Canada News Week reported that the Boating Ontario Association represented the recreational boating industry at the Toronto Zoo during an announcement from Jeff Yurek, Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks on October 22nd. Minister Yurek announced that the Ontario government is providing funding to the Great Lakes Plastic Cleanup (GLPC) project to install Seabins and LittaTraps throughout the province, including multiple member marinas.

Plastic pollution is a long-standing problem in the Great Lakes:

·      10 million kilograms of plastic pollution annually

·      Microplastic concentrations of up to 1.25 million particles/km2

·      3500 species of plants and animals under threat
 
A Seabin collects on average 8.5 lbs trash / day (1.4 tons / year):
 
• Macro plastics: bags, bottles, cups, cans, food packages, cigarette filters, Styrofoam beads etc.
• Micro plastics : > 2 mm / Seabin is one of the very few technologies able to retrieve micro plastics.
• Organic waste: leaves, algae, small branches.
• Oil films thanks to the oil absorbent pad in the Seabin.
 
These plastics kill the lakes and oceans’ eco systems. Plastics are ingested by fish, birds, turtles etc., causing suffocation, starvation, and drowning.
  
The real solution to marine pollution is to stop the flow entering the oceans and lakes. Technologies can only mitigate its impact. Seabin is used as a research station by universities such as the University of Toronto Trash Team. The data is then used by NGOs like Pollution Probe for education programs, in prevention campaigns and to lobby to change environmental laws.

CTV interviewed Peter Hart, General Manager Marinas for the Maple Leaf Marinas organization at Bay Port Yachting Centre in Midland. They currently have four Seabins operating at their marinas with plans to expand their program in the future.

See the video clip here.