“Coldplay, a band that has long supported environmental sustainability, has announced a sponsorship of a RM3.2 million The Ocean Cleanup-designed watercraft to remove plastic trash from Malaysia’s rivers. “We’re proud to announce the first step in our partnership with The Ocean Cleanup: a new river Interceptor called Neon Moon 1,” the members wrote on their Instagram.
“The system will collect plastic before it reaches the sea. The Ocean Cleanup plans to deploy these vessels in 1,000 rivers around the world, helping towards the goal of reducing floating ocean plastic by 90 per cent by 2040. Love c, g, w, j & p,” they added.
According to WWF, approximately 4.8 to 12.7 million tonnes of plastics are entering the ocean yearly, of which the vast majority leaks into the Indian and Pacific oceans, where many coastal-lands and countries are located.
Dutch non-profit organisation The Ocean Cleanup founder and CEO Boyan Slat said Malaysia is the first to receive the Interceptor 005 (or Neon Moon 1, as it is known during production), the first of two produced for series production and the first of the third-generation design to tackle the world’s 1,000 most polluted rivers worldwide.
The watercraft is currently under construction at Konecranes’ MHE-Demag facility in Malaysia and is expected to be completed in mid-2021.
“Coldplay is well renowned for their music as well as their philanthropic endeavors, so we’re excited that they have chosen to take part in our mission to rid the oceans of plastic through the sponsorship of an Interceptor,” The Ocean Cleanup said in a statement.
Since 2019, The Ocean Cleanup has announced Interceptor solutions for heavily polluting waterways in countries around the world, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Dominican Republic, Vietnam, the United States, Jamaica, and Thailand.”
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