The Ocean Cleanup Announces New Interceptor for Cisadane River, Indonesia

• Interceptor 020 to prevent estimated 1000 tons of plastic from Cisadane river reaching Java Sea each year
• New deployment marks expansion of river interception program in Indonesia following success of Interceptor 001 in Jakarta
• Continues collaboration to reduce plastic pollution in Indonesia and throughout Southeast Asia

Jakarta, May 12, 2023 — The Ocean Cleanup, the international non-profit project with the mission of ridding the world’s oceans of plastic, today signed an agreement with the Ministry of Public Works and Housing, the Government of Tangerang Regency, the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime and Investment Affairs, and the Dutch Government. This moment kicks off the planned deployment of an Interceptor™ Original to capture plastic in the Cisadane River in Indonesia. The new deployment, designated Interceptor 020, is scheduled for deployment before the end of 2023.

Interceptor 020 will contribute to tackling the estimated 1000 tons of plastic emitted via the Cisadane into the Java Sea each year. It will be the second Interceptor deployed in Indonesia after Interceptor 001, deployed in the Cengkareng Drain, Jakarta, in 2018. Both deployments demonstrate The Ocean Cleanup’s commitment to tackling the plastic pollution problem in Indonesia and Southeast Asia alongside our vital national and local partners and operators.

The Cisadane River is high on the list of priority rivers for Indonesian authorities and for The Ocean Cleanup, particularly in light of the Joint Declaration agreed as part of Indonesia’s hosting of the G20 Summit in 2022. Interceptor 020 marks another step in our mission to intercept 80% of plastic leakage into our oceans worldwide and to help Indonesia meet its goals to reduce marine plastic debris by 70% in 2025.

The Interceptor Original forms part of The Ocean Cleanup’s expanding portfolio of scalable and sustainable solutions for removing plastic from rivers worldwide. 100% solar powered and capable of autonomous plastic extraction, the Interceptor Original extracts plastic flowing with the river and deposits it into six dumpsters on a floating barge inside the system. Once filled up, local operators empty the dumpsters and send the plastic for on-shore processing. Interceptor Originals are currently deployed in Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Dominican Republic, and the United States and, to date, have prevented over 2 million kilograms of trash from reaching our oceans worldwide. Our Interceptor portfolio also includes the experimental Interceptor Trashfence (trialed in Guatemala last year) and the Interceptor Barrier and Interceptor Tender, both currently operational in Jamaica. Research continues into new Interceptor designs to pursue our mission of tackling plastic in rivers in all conditions and environments.

The deployment of Interceptor 020 involves collaboration with partners BBWS Cilliwung-Cisadane (mandator), Tangerang Regency – DLHK (operator and waste transporter), and Tanjung Burung Waste Bank (waste sorter). We extend our thanks to all partners, as well as the Governments of Indonesia and the Netherlands, especially the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime and Investment Affairs, and the Ministry of Public Works and Housing, for helping to facilitate our collaboration at international level.

The deployment of Interceptor 020 is part of the Global Implementation Partnership with The Coca-Cola Company. We are also thankful for the financial support of True Ventures and ThatGameCompany for enabling us to initiate this project.

“We are pleased to support the involvement of The Ocean Cleanup and the Government of the Netherlands to deploy the Interceptor on the Cisadane River,’’ said Jarot Widyoko, Director General of Water Resources, Ministry of Public Works and Housing of Indonesia. “This is a step forward towards contributing together with the Government of Tangerang Regency to reduce the plastic waste from rivers into the ocean.’’

“It has been a special personal honor for me to sign this agreement for our twentieth Interceptor project in my homeland,” said Stacey Santoso, Chief Financial Officer of The Ocean Cleanup. “With the support of both the Indonesian and the Dutch governments and our local operating partners, I am happy to see The Ocean Cleanup making another step towards contributing to Indonesia’s mission to reducing marine plastic pollution. There are still several dozen more target rivers in Indonesia, and I hope we can follow up quickly by announcing even more Interceptor projects in this beautiful country.”

About The Ocean Cleanup
The Ocean Cleanup is an international non-profit organization that develops and scales technologies to rid the world’s oceans of plastic. They aim to achieve this goal through a dual strategy: stemming the inflow via rivers and cleaning up the legacy plastic that has already accumulated in the ocean. For the latter, The Ocean Cleanup develops large-scale systems to efficiently concentrate the plastic for periodic removal. This plastic is tracked and traced through DNV’s chain of custody model to certify claims of origin when recycling it into new products. To curb the tide via rivers, The Ocean Cleanup has developed Interceptor™ solutions to halt and extract riverine plastic before it reaches the ocean. Founded in 2013 by Boyan Slat, The Ocean Cleanup now employs a broadly multi-disciplined team of approximately 140. The foundation is headquartered in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

Images & video: You can use this image for the pollution at the river mouth of Cisadane and this shot of the river from above, with a trail of plastic flowing through. Here’s also a close-up video of the pollution in the river. (Credit: The Ocean Cleanup)

PRESS CONTACTS
The Ocean Cleanup

CFF Communications, Amsterdam
Niels Broekhof
press@theoceancleanup.com
+31 (0)6 30 37 49 30
U.S. Media Representative, San Francisco
Alan Dunton
adunton@shiftcomm.com
+1 415-290-8219

For more information, visit: theoceancleanup.com and follow @theoceancleanup on social media.