A Cleaner Harbour in 2024 & Beyond

SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium is proud to celebrate our ongoing partnership with Seabin, a collaboration that continues to make waves in marine conservation and plastic pollution reduction.

Together, we've worked tirelessly to protect Sydney Harbour and ensure our marine life thrives. Let’s take a look at what we accomplished in 2024 and how we can achieve even more in 2025!

2024 by the Numbers: Making an Impact

Thanks to our dedicated Seabin unit, we made incredible progress in cleaning Sydney Harbour. Over the past year, we:

🔹 Filtered 229.62 million litres of water – the equivalent of 91.85 Olympic swimming pools!
🔹 Removed 200,806 plastic items – that’s an average of 550 pieces per day 🌏
🔹 Captured 112,340 microplastics – helping tackle one of the most pressing marine pollution issues
🔹 Collected 754.88 kg of marine litter, keeping harmful debris out of the ocean

Top 5 Items Captured

Understanding what enters our waterways helps us tackle pollution at its source. This year, the most commonly removed items included:

1️⃣ Microplastics (55.94%)
2️⃣ Unidentified soft plastics (14.66%)
3️⃣ Other plastic debris (13.14%)
4️⃣ Unidentified hard plastics (11.13%)
5️⃣ Cigarette butts (5.13%)

These results reinforce the need for continued education, waste reduction, and clean-up initiatives to prevent plastic from reaching our waterways in the first place.

Community Engagement: Bringing Conservation to Life

Beyond filtering millions of litres of water, SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium has been actively engaging visitors, schools, and local communities in marine conservation. Our partnership with Seabin is more than just data—it's about inspiring real change.

Educating the Next Generation

We’ve welcomed thousands of students and families to learn about ocean health through interactive talks, behind-the-scenes tours, and hands-on conservation activities. 

Our Rockpool Discovery Zone continues to be a favourite among young marine enthusiasts, helping kids connect with ocean life in a meaningful way. By linking these experiences to real-world conservation efforts—like how Seabin captures microplastics—visitors leave not only entertained, but empowered to make a difference.

Leading by Example

As a proud Smart City Program sponsor, SEA LIFE Sydney is committed to sustainable operations. From reducing single-use plastics in our aquarium to educating guests on responsible waste disposal, we practice what we preach.

In 2024, we expanded our Plastic-Free Initiatives, including:
✔ Removing unnecessary plastic packaging in retail and food areas
✔ Offering guests eco-friendly alternatives 
✔ Highlighting sustainable seafood choices through our educational talks

Making a Public Impact

We’ve reached millions of people with Seabin’s data and the broader message of marine conservation. Our collaboration ensures Sydney Harbour remains a cleaner, healthier habitat, and we’re excited to grow these efforts in 2025!

Looking Ahead: Our 2025 Commitment to Cleaner Oceans

As we step into 2025, our mission remains clear: to create a plastic-free Sydney Harbour and beyond. But we can’t do it alone. We need YOU – our visitors, partners, and conservation champions – to join us in:

✅ Expanding our impact – Together with Seabin, we’re looking at new ways expand our impact.
✅ More hands-on events – In 2025, you can expect to see SEA LIFE Sydney participate in more workshops, beach cleans, and conservation activities.
✅ Sustainable choices every day – Small changes make big waves! We’ll continue to share practical, eco-friendly tips to reduce plastic pollution.

Join Us in 2025!

A huge thank you to everyone who visited SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium and supported our efforts in 2024 Let’s make 2025 an even bigger success for our ocean, our harbour, and our future.

🌏 Stay connected & take action: Follow our journey on social media and visit us to see conservation in action!

Together, we can make a difference.