Decision details

Moved by Councillor Forster, seconded by Councillor Chung –

It is resolved that:

(A)      Council note:

(i)         on 28 October 2019, Council unanimously resolved that the Chief Executive Officer be requested to liaise with the NSW State Government and other related agencies to investigate the installation of additional Seabins around the City of Sydney’s harbour foreshore, including Darling Harbour for:

(a)       efficient capture of floating marine litter including micro plastics;

(b)       high impact visual communication for solutions, awareness and education; and

(c)       data monitoring of micro plastics, marine litter, surface pollutants and general health of the water table;

(ii)        on 31 July 2020, Councillors were informed via a CEO Update that:

(a)       the City will liaise with Transport for NSW and Property NSW in relation to the Seabin City Pilot Project and share data on the performance results;

(b)  collaborating with these agencies and Seabin Project has the aim of sharing and analysing data and considering opportunities for the installation of additional Seabin units; and

(c)   the City will contact local universities to investigate opportunities for collaboration between the universities, Seabin Project and the City;

(iii)      in July 2020, Seabin Project launched a 12-month Sydney City Pilot Project as the first step in providing a full services Seabin package to the city;

(iv)      the pilot is self-funded by Seabin Project with the goal of obtaining funding and support from a number of key stakeholders;

(v)       the Seabin technology works 24/7 to remove marine debris and surface pollutants, and is managed by environmental technicians using a Pollution Index program to provide measurable impact and community engagement;

(vi)      the environmental technicians will be responsible for the servicing and maintenance of the units, daily marine data entries, engaging with community members and facilitating educational events; 

(vii)     since starting the Sydney City Pilor mid July, Seabin have achieved:

(a)       a community reach of more than 6.2 million people mainly based in Sydney and NSW;

(b)       an operational average runtime of 98.5% since mid July for the Seabin fleet of 14 units. These 14 units oeprate 24 hours a day, 7 days per week;

(c)       the removal of over 2 tonnes of marine debris, this is the equivalent of covering 48 football fields with plastic bags; and

(d)       the filtration of more than 560 million litres of water for microplastics, plastic fibres, oil and more;

(viii)    the Seabin City Pilot Project is a platform to effectively address a range of matters including:

(a)       accurate and ongoing data collection;

(b)       visual communication - to be seen to be doing something about community concerns;

(c)       prevention and waste reduction via behavioural change; and

(d)       the physical and visual act of cleaning up our waterways;

(ix)      Seabin Project are currently working with Macquarie University and University of Technology Sydney on multiple projects;

(x)       Seabin Project understands the need for data to provide credibility for the self-funded pilot as well as show the impact the pilot has on the health of waterways;

(xi)      self-funding a city pilot is not sustainable in the long-term for Seabin Project but was an important step to commit to; and

(xii)     a number of the City of Sydney's Sustainable Sydney 2030 strategic directions include:

(a)       a globally competitive and innovative city;

(b)       a leading environmental performer;

(c)       sustainable development, renewal and design; and

(d)       implementation through effective partnerships; and

(B)      the Chief Executive Officer be requested to liaise and collaborate with Seabin Project to identify and investigate ways the City of Sydney can support Seabin's Sydney City Pilot Project and the potential future expansion of the Sydney City Pilot Project.

Carried unanimously.

S129260