PUTRAJAYA, Nov 27 — The government is committed to fighting river pollution and providing a cleaner and healthier environment for the country through a collaboration with The Ocean Cleanup, a non-profit international project with a mission of ridding the world’s oceans of plastic.

The Ministry of Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change (NRECC) in a statement today said the collaboration was inked through a Memorandum of Cooperation, signed by the ministry’s secretary-general Ching Thoo Kim and The Ocean Cleanup founder and chief executive officer Boyan Slat.

The ministry said via the memorandum, the two parties will promote and develop cooperation in the removal and management of river plastic waste in Malaysia, to reduce ocean inflows of plastic.

"Through this collaboration, the technological prowess, research capabilities, and global experience of The Ocean Cleanup can be leveraged to enhance our ability to address the multifaceted challenges posed by plastic waste.

"We earnestly hope that we will be able to catalyse change and set new benchmarks in the global fight against plastic pollution by joining forces,” said Ching in the statement, adding that they will cooperate closely by sharing technical knowledge, data and experience.

According to the statement, The Ocean Cleanup has worked actively in Malaysia since 2018, partnering Landasan Lumayan Sdn Bhd (LLSB) to deploy two Interceptor Original river cleanup technologies in the Klang River.

It said that Interceptor 002 was installed in the river in 2019, while Interceptor 005 — the build and deployment of which were funded by the band Coldplay — has further helped to improve local cleanup efficiency, resulting in quicker and more scalable cleanup, since 2021. — Bernama