Here’s how we clean up our oceans

Author : Tara Moody, Chief of Content & Marketing Culture, IBM APAC

“It’s the most obvious thing in the world that no one had ever thought of.”

That’s how Pete Ceglinski described the garbage can that Seabin built for the ocean.

And now here I am, so inspired by Pete’s talk at IBM Think that I volunteer to sort through a wet stack of garbage pulled straight out of Sydney Harbour. This is not your average Friday afternoon.

“I want cleaner oceans and a better value of life for everyone…for me, for you, for your kids, for my kids, for our kids’ kids.”

Pete’s parting words on stage were irrefutable yet infectious. As we go around the circle introducing ourselves, the Seabin team asks each of us why we’re here.

I look over at my two young nippers, who I’ve brought along for the experience. Their backyard is the stunning Sydney shoreline, a far cry from the infamously polluted beaches of 1980’s New Jersey where I grew up. My daughters are lucky. Our pristine water is precious and worth protecting. I know they try to appreciate this fact, but we must work for it now. How can we help?

Data holds the key

Together we watch the steady pump of the Seabin and listen to the numbers that make Seabin’s story so compelling: 4.2 tons of garbage collected every day.

An estimated 35 million plastic items were prevented from entering the ocean in the last three years with Seabin hardware. Over 1000 Seabin’s currently operate in 53 countries to filter more than 500 million litres of water daily.

I have to admit, it’s sobering to handle the slimy garbage that comes out of the ocean you love. But it’s the volume and variety of garbage that truly horrifies us, especially the insidious microplastics that are too small to pick out using our gloves. The tiny pieces of foam cling to leaves in a murky film of petrol and oil. I think about the majestic whales and dolphins that we see just off the cliffs at Coogee as we fill a table with hundreds of pieces of garbage, the daily content of just one Seabin.

Not your average beach clean-up

But then it gets more interesting. Seabin is working not just to collect the garbage, but also to collect the data. Proof that we have to act now.

It’s that data that wakes us up and makes us pay attention. You, me and every person who loves the ocean, but also government policymakers and business decisionmakers. As Pete says in his charmingly down to earth way;

“This [data] drives scalable behavioural change from governments to CEOs to schoolchildren. So, sounds pretty important, doesn’t it?”

Instead of pointing fingers, put those hands to use

Seabin project asks individuals to learn about the problem and take steps to change it. Whether that be sorting garbage, voting for policy, or supporting brands that choose to help make a difference.

My girls may not really know the incredible gift they have in Sydney, but they know more now, thanks to Seabin. And I’m proud that IBM is working with Seabin to take the next steps in helping modernize their data collection and analysis with AI. But you don’t have to work at IBM to get involved: check out Pete’s talk at Think 2021 and he might just light a fire in you like he did with me!

“We need more moonshots. We need more fantastical and gimmicky ideas.”

Because Pete’s taking his moonshot, and it’s already making a difference.