Page 103 - EarthHeroes

Rows of yachts glinted in the sun as a speedboat chugged slowly out of the marina and towards the open sea. Andrew and Pete worked carefully on the edge of a pier. They were finally ready to test their new invention. Beneath them, litter floated on the oily water. Pete lowered their creation into the sea
so it sat just below the surface, and fixed it to a stand, while Andrew plugged the cable into a power point. Then they held their breath as Pete switched it on. Slowly . . . slowly . . . a crisp packet and a plastic bottle started to bob gently towards the opening of the device . . . before being pulled over the edge and sucked inside. Success! The friends high-fived and whooped with joy.
It was June 2016, and Pete Ceglinski and Andrew Turton were on the Spanish island of Majorca in the Mediterranean Sea, testing their first ‘Seabin’ – a rubbish bin designed to clean up litter from open water. Both were life-long ocean lovers, having grown up on the coast of Australia. Andrew, whose nickname is Turtle, was a boat builder and especially loved sailing, often joined by his dog, Sam. Pete enjoyed all watersports, but his main passion in life was surfing. He had become a boat builder after giving up a career designing products such as kettles and toasters because he no longer wanted to make things that were thrown away rather than repaired. They met when they were working for different yacht racing teams, travelling around the world and visiting beautiful places. But over the years, both had noticed the ocean was becoming more and more polluted. Whether they were surfing amongst plastic bags off a tropical island or sailing into exotic ports full of litter, plastic was everywhere they went.
Ocean plastic pollution is a huge global issue. It’s estimated that about 10 to 20 million tonnes is washed into our seas every year. Large quantities have
103