PRESS RELEASE: Norwegian company behind PortBin solution that is helping to solve pollution problems in ports, public waterways and recreation areas by collecting waste from the water surface.
The Norwegian government and private sector interests are making progress towards ocean management, although there is still much more to do as regards local marine clean up, according to Trond Lindheim, manager of SpillTech, a Norwegian company focused on oil spill containment and clean up activities.
“Norway is committed to advancing ocean sustainability as evidenced by the recent launch of a major inter-governmental panel on the new ocean economy, and the public and private engagement in the UN Global Compact’s Business Action Plan for the Ocean. However, littering is having an impact on water quality in Norwegian ports, public waterways and recreation areas, some of which are becoming increasingly polluted so this problem needs to be addressed,” says Lindheim.
The Sandefjord-based company has developed an automated waste collector, dubbed PortBin, that is helping to solve pollution problems by collecting waste from the water surface.
“Our goal is to collect most of the waste and encourage the adoption of a simple, effective cleaning tool that will bring environmental and social benefits,” says Lindheim and adds, “to keep our waters clean, local authorities deploy PortBin to collect waste in ‘debris bays’. We have been working over the past year in cooperation to develop the technology with local authorities, with support from the development body Innovation Norway.”
The waste collector works on the principle of weir-type skimmers. It creates a suction on the water surface that allows it to collect waste in a 30-litre container, which is emptied manually when needed. “An important aspect of the development work has been to ensure that the equipment is easy to handle, and yet robust enough to be used in ports as well as recreational areas along the coastline,” explains Lindheim.
“SpillTech aims to create a complete toolbox for coastal marine waste and is currently developing a range of tools together with customers who are committed to protecting our waters. This applies to both seabed solutions, efficient collection from small work boats and autonomous solutions. PortBin is just the first tool,” adds Lindheim.
SpillTech also works with local communities and education establishments to keep local waters and beaches clean. As an example, the pupils at the Rothaugen school in Bergen are using PortBin and sharing its analysis work – carried out in collaboration with Uni Research – with international schools to generate more awareness of waste pollution issues and solutions.
“Keeping our waters and local areas clean is a shared responsibility and we aim to support more ground-up efforts in local communities,” says Lindheim and concludes, “It only takes small changes to make a big difference. We want to encourage everyone to do their part for marine environment sustainability and that includes education, action programmes and community involvement.”
PortBin is currently being used by local port authorities in Oslo, Sandefjord, Kristiansand, Bergen, Stord, Kragerø, Trondheim, Bærum and Copenhagen. Also, SpillTech is collaborating with private sector organisations and industry partners to explore further applications of its technology in international markets.
“Waste in the sea is a huge problem, and we also see it impacting our ports, public waterways and recreation areas along the coastline here in Norway. The most important solution to this problem is to stop littering but that is not easy so we also need to develop tools to collect the increasing amount of waste.” – Trond Lindheim
