Clean Ocean Cockburn

The City of Cockburn is committed to reducing marine debris across its entire coastline to protect our ocean ecosystem. A number of projects are currently underway to prevent litter and encourage its removal: 

Seabin 

In January 2019, the City installed Western Australia's first Seabin at the Port Coogee Marina (northern corner, close to Dome Cafe) to capture marine litter in the local area. The Seabin is a floating rubbish bin designed to be installed in the water of marinas, yacht clubs and ports.

The Seabin can catch an estimated 1.5kg of floating rubbish per day, including coffee cups, plastic bottles, bait bags, cigarette butts, straws, balloons and micro-plastics that are only 2mm in size. The Seabin also collects detergents, fuels and oils.

Water is sucked in from the surface and passes through a catch bag inside the Seabin. The water is then pumped back into the marina leaving litter and debris trapped in the catch bag to be disposed of properly. The City will be monitoring the amount and type of litter collected and feeding this data into the Seabin Global Ambassador Program. 

For more information about the Seabin, visit the Seabin website. 

Beach Bin Trial 

In 2019, a three-month beach trial prevented more than 2.6 tonnes of rubbish - equal to the weight of nine bottlenose dolphins - entering Cockburn's coastal environment over summer. The beach bins, decorated with artwork by children from the Graham family of Cockburn for the Coogee Live beach festival, were regularly emptied by a dedicated officer stationed in the area. 

In 2020, the City installed more bins from North Coogee Beach to Woodman Point from November 2020 to April 2021.The beach bins prevented over 7 tonnes of rubbish potentially entering Cockburn’s coastal environment.
 
The extensive use of the City’s beach bins over summer and the reduction in observed litter shows that beach users responsibly dispose of rubbish if bins are provided.

In an effort to keep our precious coastal environment free of harmful litter, the City will continue to install and service bins along the Cockburn coastline throughout summer and peak periods.

Take 3 for the Sea 

Take 3 for the Sea is a national campaign encouraging you to take 3 pieces of rubbish with you when you leave the beach, waterway or...anywhere. 

To solve this problem, the City has installed new bins over summer and started an education campaign focusing on the recreational fishing community – Clean Ocean Clean Catch. Bins and multi-lingual signage will be installed at fishing hotspots along the City’s coastline.

This project will help to remove litter from the City’s beaches, thereby protecting coastal ecosystems.

For more information, please contact the Waste Education Coordinator on 08 9411 3444 or email.