Cartagena Mayor’s Office and The Ocean Cleanup join forces to protect local waterways and the Caribbean Sea

Facing a global crisis in which hundreds of thousands of tons of plastic enter the world’s oceans through rivers and urban drainage basins each year, the Cartagena Mayor’s Office and The Ocean Cleanup, a global non-profit dedicated to removing plastic from rivers and oceans, have formalized a strategic partnership to protect La Heroica’s waterways and curb the flow of waste into the Caribbean Sea.

The alliance will focus its initial efforts on the basin feeding the Ciénaga de la Virgen, an ecosystem of vital biological, hydrological, and social priority for Cartagena. By deploying Interceptor solutions in the canals draining into this body of water, the strategy aims to stem pollution bound for the Caribbean Sea while protecting marine biodiversity, safeguarding flood regulation, and boosting local artisanal fishing and ecotourism.

The Ocean Cleanup is a global non-profit organization that develops and scales solutions to rid the world’s oceans of plastic. Founded in 2013 by Boyan Slat and headquartered in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, the organization features a multidisciplinary team of around 200 people with active operations in 12 countries.

Through rigorous scientific research, custom-engineered solutions, and strategic partnerships with governments and communities, The Ocean Cleanup works to stop plastic from entering oceans via water basins and remove accumulated waste at sea. To date, the organization has removed over 64 million kilograms of waste from aquatic ecosystems worldwide.

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 the decade.

Ricardo Restrepo, Regional Director for the Americas at The Ocean Cleanup, highlighted the collaboration with local authorities. He said: “Every body of water has distinct characteristics. At The Ocean Cleanup, we have been gathering and analyzing environmental, social, and waste management data to fully understand the challenge and specific conditions of each canal. This data will allow us to deploy the most effective solution from our portfolio for every location.”

According to Cartagena’s Acting Mayor, María Patricia Porras Mendoza, the agreement reinforces the district’s roadmap to protect its natural assets: “For Cartagena, this alliance represents a clear opportunity to tackle one of the main pollution sources affecting our waterways. We want to move toward cleaner canals, improve environmental conditions for our ecosystems, and deliver direct benefits to the communities living alongside them.”

Similarly, the Director of the Public Environmental Establishment (EPA), Mauricio Rodríguez Gómez, emphasized the importance of the technical diagnostic: “This alliance provides essential tools to advance the district’s environmental goals and enables us to address a problem directly impacting our canals, channels, and waterways. Having specialized data will be key to designing more effective interventions in these ecosystems.”

Globally, The Ocean Cleanup’s river portfolio includes Interceptor technology, floating platforms and barriers that leverage solar power and real-time sensors to guide waste toward recycling networks. The global goal is to reduce floating plastic by 90% by 2040 through a combination of advanced technology, transparent data, and community engagement.

Fighting pollution and restoring water basins is a top priority for the local government. Managed by Cartagena’s International Cooperation Advisory Office and formalized through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), the administration aims to implement sustainable, innovative solutions at the source by cutting off waste flow in the city’s urban drainage canals. 

By signing this Memorandum of Understanding with The Ocean Cleanup, the Cartagena Mayor’s Office solidifies the organization’s presence in Colombia, the 13th nation to join its global intervention network. Cartagena takes the initiative to cut pollution at the root, setting a new conservation standard that protects community livelihoods.

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 October 2026, the non-profit has collected over 64 million kilograms (141 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.