Europe's first solar-powered seabin is floating in Spinola Bay to rid it of micro plastics and other debris.

The bin is estimated to collect about 500 kilogrammes of rubbish each year from the busy St Julian's bay.

It forms part of an international Seabin Project that aims to raise awareness about plastic littering and build sustainable floating bins that collect water-borne garbage, 24 hours a day.

The Seabin Project first started in Malta last summer on the initiative of local company Strand Marine and environmental NGO Żibel .

“The great thing about sea bins is that they collect debris which is hard to collect - like cigarette butts, micro plastics and small fibres that are otherwise difficult for people to collect during regular clean-ups,” said Matthew Travers Tauss from Strand Marine. 

He said that by the end of September there would be 10 units in locations that include Pieta, Vittoriosa, Marsaxlokk, Marsascala and Msida.

“The one we installed in St Julian'sis version two of the original sea bin that was originally designed for marinas. This is the first solar panel version installed.

We’re very excited since this is a pilot project and Prohealth allowed us to use their sea bin, worth about €10,000, as a test,” he said.

He explained that the sea bin consists of waterproof cabinets that house high tech equipment.

The powerful submerged pump creates suction and pulls about a six metre radius of floating debris into a bin that is emptied regularly.

Seabins suck up debris that is hard to collect, like cigarette butts, micro plastic and small fibres. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

John Jaccarini, executive director of Prohealth - importers and distributors of pharmaceuticals and derma cosmetics amongst other things - said that the sea bin fits in with the company’s CSR vision to help safeguard the environment. 

“For us Maltese, and for everyone really, the sea is critical. We realised from our personal experiences that there is a lot of rubbish in our sea.

I love kayaking and I see this all the time. When we heard about the Seabin Project, we contacted Strand Marine. St Julian'swas chosen because it’s a popular spot that sees a lot of Maltese and foreigners and this brings about lots of pollution,” he said.

Company CEO Peter Apap, who founded Prohealth with Mr Jaccarini and their partner Andrew Paris, added that the company wanted to offer something different and innovative. They also wanted to take it a step further and go for a sea bin that was sustainable and off the grid. 

St Julian'smayor Albert Buttigieg said that the large influx of people in St Julian'sgenerated a lot of rubbish and this was an example of how companies could contribute to keeping the area clean.

“Our sea is not a bin. Look around you, there are bins everywhere in St Julians. I really urge people coming here to respect the locality, the residents and the environment,” he said.