“Even with two Interceptors, the volume of trash is overwhelming,” said Marco Piet, the group’s rivers director. “We plan to upgrade the systems and possibly deploy more Interceptors to boost capacity.”
The Interceptors – solar-powered, autonomous vessels – have been operating in the Klang River since 2019 and 2021. They aim to capture plastic waste before it reaches the sea.
A 2020 report by state-linked company Landasan Lumayan showed improved water quality in the Klang River since the Interceptors were introduced.
Despite this, Piet said, a large amount of waste still escaped capture.
“Cleaning one river is not enough. We need broader solutions, better waste management, sustainability education, and strong local involvement,” he said.
He called for greater cooperation from NGOs, civil society, and local communities, stressing that effective solutions must be locally driven.
He was speaking at the launch of a new plastic sorting and processing facility in Klang, part of the state’s Selangor Maritime Gateway (SMG) river rehabilitation project.
Klang mayor Abdul Hamid Hussain said the facility would play a vital role in both waste management and environmental protection.
“It will help reduce carbon emissions, air and water pollution, and also create jobs since it will be manually operated,” he said.
Landasan Lumayan managing director Syaiful Azmen Nordin said public behaviour needed to change if long-term sustainability goals were to be met.
“Interceptor boats and log booms only treat the symptoms. Real change comes from shifting public attitudes,” he said. “This facility is also about education and building a culture of sustainability.”
Natural resources and environmental sustainability ministry secretary-general Ching Thoo Kim said broader steps were being taken through the proposed Climate Change Bill to address river pollution, citing the introduction of bottle deposit machines, similar to systems in the Netherlands and Germany, as one example.
“Our dream is for the Klang River to one day be clean enough to take a boat ride all the way to Mid Valley Megamall. It may take 20 or 30 years, but that’s the goal,” he said.