Whitehaven Harbour secures seventh ‘sea bin’ to capture plastic waste

A project to clean up Whitehaven Harbour using specialist floating “sea bins” that capture plastic waste has grown into mainland Europe’s biggest.

The town recently saw the seventh such device installed there, which can collect up to 20kg of debris.

Whitehaven Harbour Youth Project has been involved with the idea since 2019, and it is home to the third highest number in the world.

Those living on the harbour “have noticed a difference,” organisers said.

The bins, which were created by surfers in Australia, run for 24 hours a day and are powered by a low-energy motor.

There are now around 900 in operation across the world, with several similar schemes in the UK.

The West Cumbrian town secured its first bin in 2019, with the seventh installed last week.

Stephen Walter, from Whitehaven Harbour Youth Project, said the bins helped to clear up parts of the marina that were “hard to reach”.

“At first people were quite sceptical,” he told BBC Radio Cumbria.

“We are emptying them once or twice a day, sometimes more, that does make a difference.

“We live on an island and if we all do our little bit in the area that we live in, that will make an impact.”

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