The members of British alternative rock band Coldplay have committed themselves to changing the world not just with their music, but also through initiatives that tackle the effects of pollution and climate change.

Although they have yet to perform in Malaysia, Coldplay is sponsoring a watercraft designed to remove and extract plastic waste from our rivers. Being longstanding advocates of green initiatives, the band has invested in projects aimed at cleaning up urban rivers and waterlogged areas from garbage pollution, especially plastics, that eventually end up in the ocean.

The band has been working closely with Dutch non-profit organisation The Ocean Cleanup, who designed the Interceptor 005 watercraft.

In a statement, Coldplay said, “Without action, there could be more plastic than fish in the oceans by 2050, which is why The Ocean Cleanup’s work is so vital. We’re proud to sponsor Interceptor 005 which will catch thousands of tonnes of waste before it reaches the ocean.”

This will be the second Interceptor to be deployed to Malaysia after the first one was received in August 2019, which was then placed in the Klang River. This latest interceptor though, is locally built in partnership with Finnish firm Konecranes at their MHE-Demag facility in Bukit Raja, Klang, and is expected to catch up to 100 tonnes of trash, especially plastics, daily.

Bernama reported that Boyan Slat said Malaysia is the first to receive the Interceptor 005, which is the first of two produced for series production and the first of the third-generation design to tackle the world’s 1,000 most polluted rivers worldwide. Slat also revealed in a statement that Interceptor 005 (also known in production as Neon Moon 1), which is currently under construction, will be completed in mid-2021 and will commence operations soon after.

Slat also added that plastic waste in the ocean eventually travels to ocean garbage patches where debris accumulates in a vortex of circulating currents. Since plastic waste can stay in the slow-moving whirlpools for years, lack of action to prevent pollution will increase the adverse impact on surrounding ecosystems, collective health, and economies.

Since 2019, The Ocean Cleanup has announced its Interceptor solutions for heavily polluting waterways in countries around the world including Indonesia, the Dominican Republic, Vietnam, the USA, Jamaica, and Thailand.

— Information courtesy of Bernama