Rivers • Updates • The Ocean Cleanup

Panorama, aerial view Bangkok river curved with sunset background

A Tale of 3 Rivers: Intercontinental River Research Collaboration

The Ocean Cleanup has partnered with leading universities across three continents to study plastic pollution in three urban rivers over three years in the Dominican Republic, South Africa and Thailand.

UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner and The Ocean Cleanup founder & CEO Boyan Slat sign the Memorandum of Understanding at UN Headquarters in New York.

General, Global affairs, Rivers

The Ocean Cleanup and the United Nations: Partnering with UNDP

The Ocean Cleanup and the United Nations Development Programme have joined forces to eliminate plastic pollution around the globe.

Interceptor 006 in Las Vacas river, Guatemala, after the flash flood. The Interceptor Trashfence suffered some damage and most of the plastic escaped during the flood.

General, Rivers

The Ocean Cleanup Trials New Interceptor in World’s Most Polluting River

The Ocean Cleanup has begun work on intercepting plastic pollution in what we predict to be the heaviest polluting river in the world.

General, Rivers

Expanding the Interceptor Family

If we had approached each river with a dedicated technical solution, our scale-up would take way too much time. Therefore, we designed the Interceptor like a product; suitable for many…

General, Rivers

The Ocean Cleanup and Ocean Conservancy team up with MrBeast and Mark Rober in #TeamSeas fundraising campaign

Today, YouTubers Mark Rober and MrBeast announced their latest fundraising campaign, #TeamSeas to enact a movement of this proportion. #TeamSeas aims to motivate global social media creators and fans to…

General, Rivers

Coca-Cola Becomes First Global Implementation Partner to Help Accelerate Cleanup

The Ocean Cleanup and Coca-Cola are partnering to deploy Interceptors and expedite river projects. The partnership connects The Ocean Cleanup’s technology and data solutions with Coca-Cola’s scale and global network.…

Engineering, Rivers

Interceptor 004: The First in the Caribbean

In February 2020, Interceptor 004, after its debut at the unveiling of our river program weeks earlier, was shipped from Rotterdam to the Dominican Republic. Its planned deployment was paused…

General, Oceans, Rivers

The Numbers Behind Our Catch

At The Ocean Cleanup, one of the key communication principles we live by is transparency: sharing every step of our journey, whether good news or bad. Our work affects everyone,…

Discussion, General, Rivers

Why Rivers are the Key to Rapidly Stopping Plastic Pollution

Plastic pollution is one of the most pressing issues our oceans face today. Close to 700 marine species are now known to be harmed by plastic, of which more than…

General, Research, Rivers

In Search of the Rivers that Carry Plastic into the Ocean

Our study - published today in Science Advances – estimates that 1000 rivers account for nearly 80% of global riverine plastic emissions into the ocean, made up of a high…