Barranquilla Mayor’s Office and The Ocean Cleanup tackle plastic pollution

Barranquilla, 21 September 2026

• Memorandum of Understanding will enable the deployment of solutions to intercept waste in areas such as the lower Magdalena River and other bodies of water draining into the Caribbean Sea.
• This will protect key ecosystems like mangroves and beaches and safeguard the livelihoods of fishing communities and those reliant on tourism.
  

Faced with a global problem in which hundreds of thousands of tons of plastic enter the world’s oceans through rivers every year, the Barranquilla Mayor’s Office and The Ocean Cleanup, an international non-profit organization, have formalized the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) as part of international efforts to protect watersheds, mitigate environmental pollution, and safeguard ecosystems in the Colombian Caribbean.

This joint agreement with Barranquilla seeks to implement tailored Interceptor barriers and environmental engineering solutions to curb the flow of plastic waste directly at the source, representing one of the first steps of The Ocean Cleanup’s official arrival in Colombia, the thirteenth country to join its global operation.

Ricardo Restrepo, Regional Director for the Americas at The Ocean Cleanup, said: “Ocean plastic pollution is a global crisis that demands urgent and collective action. By partnering with Barranquilla, we are taking a concrete step to stop plastic at its source and safeguard Colombia’s marine environment for future generations. Together we can achieve a lasting impact, not only for this city, but for communities and ecosystems throughout Colombia and beyond.”

For the mayor of Barranquilla, Alejandro Char, the support of The Ocean Cleanup validates the nature care system that the city has been consciously carrying out with its natural assets.

He said: “We started with Mallorquín and its swamp, converting it into an ecopark; we restored our Puerto Mocho beach; we have turned to look at our system of pipes and, of course, we have implemented a unique solution with a trap that captures garbage from the León stream before reaching the Magdalena River to prevent its waters from polluting the Caribbean Sea. This is big because it indicates that we are on the right track with the management and care of the environment”.

The alliance forms part of The Ocean Cleanup’s 30 Cities Program, an initiative operating in 30 priority cities across Asia and the Americas with the goal of capturing up to one-third of global plastic emissions flowing from urban and river basins into the oceans by the end of this decade.

The water protection strategy will see the deployment of the floating Interceptor solutions developed by The Ocean Cleanup. Amongst the areas that could be considered for the installation of these advanced solutions are several bodies of water associated with the lower basin of the Magdalena River in its final stretch before its mouth into the sea, as well as the Arroyo León, aiming to contribute to the protection of the Ciénaga de Mallorquín and other marine-coastal ecosystems.

This aims to stop the flow of plastic waste in these bodies of water before it reaches the Caribbean Sea and to strengthen the protection of the region’s mangroves, beaches, and marine-coastal ecosystems.
This will strengthen the protection of mangroves, beaches, and marine-coastal ecosystems in the region. The intervention model focuses on comprehensive conservation from the source, downstream waste collection, and the strengthening of responsible environmental management.

This action seeks to prevent the billions of dollars in damage that plastic causes to marine ecosystems and local economies in the region. Working hand in hand with local authorities and stakeholders will boost Barranquilla’s leadership in sustainability and the preservation of its natural resources.

To date, The Ocean Cleanup has removed more than 62 million kilograms of trash from aquatic ecosystems worldwide. With active operations in 13 countries, including significant progress in Latin America, Barranquilla’s involvement is another step forward in the Mayor’s Office’s commitment to its region for the protection and environmental conservation of its territories.

About The Ocean Cleanup
The Ocean Cleanup is a global nonprofit that develops and scales solutions to rid the world’s oceans of plastic. By conducting extensive research, engineering scalable solutions, and partnering with governments, industry, and like-minded organizations, The Ocean Cleanup is working to stop plastic inflow via rivers and remove legacy plastic already polluting the oceans. As of September 2026, the non-profit has collected over 62 million kilograms (136.7 million pounds) of trash from aquatic ecosystems around the world. Founded in 2013 by Boyan Slat, The Ocean Cleanup now employs a multi-disciplined team of approximately 200 people. The organization is headquartered in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, with international operations in 12 countries.