A new approach to Southeast Asian operations

The Ocean Cleanup continues to expand its mission to the rid the world’s oceans of plastic with a change in its strategic approach to Southeast Asian operations.

As part of the restructure, the organization’s regional hub in Kuala Lumpur, which opened in April 2023, will be closing. This move reflects an intentional shift from a centralized regional setup toward a more project-based, country-specific, presence across the region.

Those affected by the announcement will have the opportunity to apply for new positions to continue the nonprofit’s vital work in Malaysia.

With a main focus on the significant upscale in river deployments, Monty Simus, Global Director of Public Affairs, Policy, and Blue Finance, will spearhead The Ocean Cleanup’s important governmental and innovative finance development efforts to accelerate the expansion.  

Given the high level of ambition, Monty will be working across the region in major cities including Jakarta, Manila, Singapore, and Bangkok. 

Monty Simus, said: “The Ocean Cleanup’s presence in Malaysia has been instrumental in building strong relationships with authorities, institutions, and regional stakeholders. Experience in neighboring countries demonstrated that local presence is essential to achieve real traction. 

“We will, therefore, be moving to a distributed model with country-specific team members for each deployment location, enabling stronger engagement, faster progress, and a deeper understanding of and connection to local systems.”

Boyan Slat, founder and CEO of The Ocean Cleanup, added: “Looking back on the two-year pilot in Malaysia, we appreciate the access we had in Kuala Lumpur to great partners and employees, valuable operational learnings, and solid support for our regional endeavors. 

“Note that the decision regarding our regional office does not affect our project in Malaysia’s Klang River, nor our ambition to expand to other rivers in the Greater Kuala Lumpur area” 

The Ocean Cleanup already has a strong presence across the region with Interceptor deployments in Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia with further expansion plans to be announced in the near future.