British band Coldplay will be sponsoring a watercraft that removes plastic trash from Malaysian rivers!
According to Channel News Asia (CNA), the vessel, built by a Dutch non-profit organisation, The Ocean Cleanup.
Photo via The Ocean Cleanup
“Without action, there could be more plastic than fish in the oceans by 2050, which is why The Ocean Cleanup’s work is so vital,” said the band.
“We’re proud to sponsor Interceptor 005 which will catch thousands of tons of waste before it reaches the ocean.”
The vessel will be the second Interceptor to be deployed to Malaysia after the first one that was received in August 2019 and was placed in the Klang River.
Main image via: The Independent, The Ocean Cleanup
Founder and CEO of The Ocean Cleanup, Boyan Slat said that Malaysia will be the first to receive the Interceptor 005, which is the first of two produced for the series production, and the first of the third-generation design which tackles the world’s 1,000 most polluted rivers worldwide.
The Interceptor is locally-built in partnership with a Finnish firm, Konecranes at their MHE-Demag facility in Klang and is expected to catch up to 100 tonnes of trash daily, especially plastics, as reported by BERNAMA
According to Slat, plastic wastes in the ocean eventually travels to ocean garbage patches where debris naturally accumulates in a vortex of circulating currents, and since plastic wastes can stay in a slow-moving whirlpool for years, lack of action to prevent pollution will increase the impact on the ecosystems, health and economies.
The Interceptor vessels are also being used in other countries like Indonesia and the Dominican Republic.
Reuse, reduce, recycle, guys! It’s important that we work together as a community to cut down on the amount of waste we throw away!
By: Aishah Akashah Ahadiat
