Thailand uses Dutch barge to collect garbage from Chao Phraya river

Thailand on Wednesday started to use Interceptor 019, a solar-powered barge, to collect waste on part of Chao Phraya river in Bangkok.

Obtained from Dutch non-profit organisation Ocean Cleanup, Interceptor 019 is its third-generation garbage collecting barge, 100% solar-powered and can operate round the clock without human supervision. It can collect up to 100,000 pieces of garbage daily.

Since 2019, Ocean Cleanup has been working with governments and private partners to collect plastic waste from rivers in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Dominican Republic and the US to minimise plastic from flowing into the oceans and causing ecological harm at a larger scale.

According to a statement by Ocean Cleanup, Chao Phraya is one of the world’s busiest working rivers, providing vital services and livelihoods for riverside communities. Cleaning the river requires a customised and city-centric approach, driven by research and complementing the efforts already made by city authorities, it said.

For years, dozens of smaller canals feed Chao Phraya, and much of the waste that ends up in the river – and heads towards the Gulf of Thailand – arrives via these canals. Interceptor 019 is expected to collect the waste effectively, preventing it to flow into the gulf.

Speaking at the ceremony to launch the Interceptor 019, Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said that using the garbage collecting barge is in line with the city’s efforts in waste classification for recycling and treatment