The Ocean Cleanup takes on polluted rivers – meet the Interceptor

Insured by Gard

80% of plastic originating from rivers stems from 1,000 rivers alone and these are the arteries that carry waste from land to the ocean. To rid the oceans of plastic, The Ocean Cleanup is not only aiming to clean up the plastic already in the oceans, but also to prevent further plastic from reaching the ocean.

Last year, Gard provided P&I insurance for The Ocean Cleanup’s first cleanup system inside the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, System 001, also known as WILSON. We are delighted to continue our support for The Ocean Cleanup’s valuable work by providing P&I insurance for the Interceptor.

The Interceptor is capable of operating in the majority of the world’s most polluting rivers. Two devices have already been deployed in the Cenkareng Drain in Indonesia and Klang River in Malaysia, two of the world’s most polluting rivers.

Scalable, energy neutral and connected

The interceptor has been designed for mass production and can be applied virtually anywhere in the world. The waste enters the Interceptor with the natural current of the river. All electronics onboard, including the conveyor belt, shuttle, lights, sensors, data transmission, are solar-powered.

The solution is also internet-connected, allowing The Ocean Cleanup to collect continuous performance and collection data. It also enables the solution to automatically notify local operators once the dumpsters are full.

The Interceptor is capable of extracting 50,000 kg of trash each day –reaching 100,000 kg per day under optimal conditions. The goal of The Ocean Cleanup is to tackle these 1,000 most polluting rivers all over the world by 2025 in partnerships with government leaders and private corporations.

Complements the UN SDGs

The Ocean Cleanup’s goals complement Gard’s work with the UN for sustainable development goals in the oceans and we have been discussing how we can help The Ocean Cleanup with insurance cover since Boyan Slat spoke at Gard’s Summer Seminar in 2016. Supporting The Ocean Cleanup aligns with our corporate mission to together to enable sustainable maritime development as it is  vital to improve the state of the ocean for future generations. Further information is available on The Ocean Cleanup website.