Interceptor 019 in Bangkok: The First Step in a Multi-Year Project to Clean the Chao Phraya River

Big problems require big solutions. Our latest river deployment - Interceptor 019 marks the start of our work in Bangkok, where we will work alongside local partners and the existing cleanup efforts to stop thousands of tons of trash from entering the Gulf of Thailand while gathering data to learn about how this plastic enters the river. Subscribe to our channel to stay updated: bit.ly/371k8sN
Learn more about our work in Bangkok here: theoceancleanup.com/updates/b...
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:20 Chao Phraya: location context
02:14 Why collaboration is key to solving plastic pollution
03:03 Local initiatives to clean the Chao Phraya
05:00 About local partnerships
Note:
06:52 Department of Marine and Coastal Resources*
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[@LarsDennert]

Bravo. I'm just here in the phillipines scuba diving and the amount of trash under water and above seems less than previous visits. I feel as though the awareness is increasing. The locals I spoke to, close travel to a canyoneering river every month and do an extra cleanup is case there is trash. Localities have more trash bins, bags and services. As the tip of the effort, i think the Ocean Cleanup is causing more change than just their direct efforts. Heavily populated areas on Luzon are struggling to keep ahead of issue but i think education is taking hold in the younger generations of philippinos. It's hard to think about waste when even having running drinking water in many houses has not been achieved.

[@jackthompson6296]

Poverty is not the reason why people don’t dispose of their own trash. Both stem from lack of education

[@friedrichhofmann8111]

@@jackthompson6296 Yep - and good education, school-formation and such unfortunately is in many countries greatly dependent on financial resources ;-)

[@jackthompson6296]

@@friedrichhofmann8111if money was the only thing it took to educate people, Europe wouldn’t be quite so full of idiots

[@CaptainGuntu]

I love the humility of the OC crew, not coming as outsiders with all the answers looking down on the local people, blaming them for the trash and telling them how to fix the problem. They seek to be real partners and learn from and leverage the knowledge and existing cleanup efforts and system to build something that complements and augments what is already being done.

[@josefinematildehansenvonki2384]

It's great to see how much they have allready done in Thialand❤

[@colyniek]

Get your spelling right!

[@jakfr0zt375]

@@colyniek👎🏻

[@Michael-ln7us]

Yes already and Thailand isn't spelt right but the message is positive let's go on that shall we rather than an attack on someone's slight mistake.

[@Inkfinitycomics]

You need to open up more vacancies here in the uk. I would LOVE to work for you. What an exciting thing you're doing for our planet :)

[@gedelgo3242]

I regret that I didn't send a resume years ago when the company was starting. Congrats to the people who got the opportunity to work on something so solarpunk.

[@harmhoeks5996]

These types of companies run out of funding sooner or later. I prefer lean & successful. Maximum pickup plastic per euro.

[@JulianHarris]

Same! Maybe one day they’ll have UK vacancies.

[@Person-jw7mk]

​@@harmhoeks5996 What do you mean? Do you think that this company is not efficient enough at what it does? Are there more efficient solutions?

[@zyxw2000]

@@harmhoeks5996 They have funding by dozens of major corporations and the public. How much did you donate?

[@finally_dorian]

Shoutout to whoever said, "Bring back long form content" on the last video 😅 But also I understand that you can really only do long form for new adventures/installations?

[@junkname9983]

they can show real science and the learning process they're undertaking. Show us the flaws and the lessons learned from failures. Show us the difficulties and acknowledge things that they can't overcome. But no. Instead, this org is doing nothing but keep on making these propaganda-like videos. Alright, they want to inspire and give people hope and make us open our wallets to help, fine, but if we only see that side of things, that's not really telling the whole story and makes me think they're just advertising rather than informing people.

[@zyxw2000]

@@junkname9983 They're not just advertising. They've cleaned up 18 million tons of plastic from rivers and the ocean. And they work with the government to raise awareness of water pollution.

[@junkname9983]

@@zyxw2000 no, these videos, they're advertisments, even if they do real work.

[@hjordistorfa]

It's Magnificent to have the Interceptor.. Beautiful.. But please people get together and be awear of what your throing into your water & rivers.. You can make it clean if you all stay together.. Wishing you all the best of the best 💕🇮🇸✌️😊💕 Greetings from Skandinavia

[@gy2gy246]

Those people living on the river don't have trash collection.

[@daffydus]

I was in Bangkok in January and saw more cleanup work in the river than ever by the authorities. Still, I was saddened by the amount of trash in the Chao Phraya, which seemed to me personally to have increased since the naughties and the 2010's. The assistance by the Ocean Cleanup is dearly needed! ❤

[@CorvetteAustin24]

Dr. Suraswadi nailed it! Great comment and insight. Great work to everyone at The Ocean Cleanup!

[@angrypickle6346]

amazing people, you guys need more videos/clips/shorts so this thing blows up.

[@apackperday]

Bravo! I have family that live in Bangkok, so I truly appreciate this effort. Many, many thank you's to everything you do!

[@ingridwatsup9671]

It takes a small country to do great things: The Ocean Cleanup is from The Netherlands and so am I and very proud of them making such a difference worldwide 🇳🇱🌷🌷🌷🌷

[@kalleh6377]

It’s nice to see the earlier initiatives and maybe a collaboration by using the people who already are doing the job and use their experience to use interceptors.

[@ThePamelaWat]

Thanks for coming to Thailand. I went back last year to my country and ride a boat to department store and see lots and loads of rubbish floating. It wasn’t a good sight and I think of you guys. Glad to see it will get better.

[@ldqa2737]

Yay! Get it at the source... You did well getting the "end of the pipeline" competed and working then focusing on the source. Thank you!!! 💪😎

[@fionamcwilliam8703]

Great to see you working in a new country! This looks like a situation where you could use bubbles in the river to guide the rubbish to an interceptor on the side of the river. There's another group that uses the bubble method in The Netherlands that you could talk with. And then have interceptors like you have in Jamaica on the streams running into the river with the municipal folk cleaning them out every day. Great you can help the local folk improve their collection systems.

[@rapipanmanoch6470]

I’m a Thai and while I’m very thankful for this project, I’m sad that the only reason I learned about this project at all is because I subscribed to this channel. Many Thai people are actually concerned about environmental problems and trying to participate wherever they can, but they won’t because the related organizations are quiet about it. Also there have been a few times where people filmed the moment where the trash people had spent time and effort into separating ended up in the water because the garbage trucks wasn’t secured against the wind, or even worse when it was the private contractors who doing garbage removal for municipal who dumped them into the river themselves

[@nigelcampbell8460]

I am so proud of this Project, look at these people, they care so much. 🎉Cheers to you Ocean Cleanup!

[@naturelover97731]

Very good job. Thailand is my second Home since 30 years and it is more and more full of single use plastic. If they avoid to use so much plastic it will have a huge impact. Even in Cafés or Restaurant they serve in single use plastic. For example arabica Cafe in 55th floor of Empire Tower

[@marjoriejohnson3147]

FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!!!!! THANK YOU OCEAN CLEANUP!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@slowerpicker]

Dr. Suraswadi realizes correctly that the Interceptor’s greatest impact will be in public relations.

[@kirstenviers7928]

I like hearing about how other people care about their environment, thank you.

[@JoshBartKzTSIS]

Bangkok! I love that you are getting to see how others have already been tackling the problem of plastic pollution locally and showcase their efforts. Definitely continue to give those local communities the recognition they deserve as it serves to show where we can all be thinking through our own place in the solutions to plastic waste and pollution. Cleaning the rivers and oceans of plastic is going to be an amazing achievement and it will take all of the local communities and larger international groups like The Ocean Cleanup to create the sustainable solutions for the long-term.

[@xonarii]

A great way to help the tsunami waste that gets washed away as well!

[@greendragon0009]

It's hard to see the trash in the river and not cry. Thailand is so beautiful. Good luck to these good people for finding new ways to clean up the river. Now you have to convince people to not throw trash everywhere so it doesn't end up in the water. :)

[@Maffmatix]

Thank you from Thailand! :)

[@IanMott]

Project Cordionators smile is contagious.

[@yournway]

Great work being done and thought, as usual. Thank you.

[@fredericmarascotti309]

so happy to see the interceptor there :)

[@heathertaylor3103]

Always love the videos were we get to hear local perspectives on the interceptors

[@aei6018]

Where can I observe this operation in Bangkok?

[@zyxw2000]

the Chao Phraya River

[@jonnybritnorth7966]

its starts with educating the public that plastic and trash destroy their communities

[@travelchoice89]

🌊♻ Exciting to see Interceptor 019 in action in Bangkok! This is a crucial step towards cleaning up the Chao Phraya River. Let's keep the momentum going! 👏

[@Michael-ln7us]

As they say the interceptor is preventing the rubbish entering the sea but the bigger issues of changing mindsets and stopping the waste entering the watercourse in the first place is number one. Hopefully those in poorer districts with less access to rubbish disposal will be assisted and educated with a better way of disposal through council refuse collection i.e community bins

[@TheButterZone]

7:26 that giant bottle basket reminds me of the baskets at some recycling centers in the US, but I wish they would put them around in public like this one. The classic bins with the holes in them might look better, but they attract stuffing non-recyclable waste inside. The giant bottle basket would make it easier to see contraband & yank it out, and excess liquid could drain & evaporate out easier if people uncap & shake out first.

[@drew1921]

Dam this Just helps Bangkok jump into the 22nd century it's Kool to see they were already doing something this Will definitely add to Thier efforts tremendously.

[@sourceofuniversallove1449]

I'm appreciative for the collective moving towards remedying humanities lack of awareness. That being said, governing bodies really need to stress the importance to educate decent parents. This all starts with parents educating the next generation on treating our planet with a little bit more respect. Here's to seeing our oceans cleaned up properly within our lifetime!

[@stevejohnstonbaugh9171]

It is wonderful to see the initiatives that the Thai government have in place that are already working on pollution. In Thailand, you do not have to build from the ground up. Simply sharing what you have learned on other similarly compromised rivers is a huge benefit to the Thai authorities. Keep up your wonderful work! When processing the collected trash - do the organics go to a composting facility? Water hyacinths are a great source of biomass.

[@seeksustainablejapan]

Love Bangkok & love the great work you're doing, thank you!

[@MarcinSzoltysek-je3od]

I know how time are Ocean Cleanclub work! Its fantastic! Thank you for save the planet! I WANT TO BE ECO!

[@Secretlyanothername]

So glad that you're working with local initiatives to complement them

[@ogkush09]

Thank you to everyone and their hard work 👏

[@the_dad_library]

well done, always exciting to watch you guys pull off your operations

[@VVeog]

You guys are so good u were 3 questions on the AP Environmental exam this year!

[@palomitapalomita7866]

I love this. Keep going! This should be viral

[@MahendraVikramGaurme23d010]

Thanks for everything.

[@IanMott]

This is amazing work and the approach is so humble!

[@samael335]

Holy hell. If they cleaned up those shanty dump docks (1:25) over the river they'd prevent a lot of trash from reaching the water.

[@HelTra91]

Love this! I hope you can post more videos like these of the other projects ♥

[@VersatileVillains]

Magnificent job but what if these interceptors had a way to filter oil and gas and other fluids like that. That way it will pull double duty and make our waters cleaner than what it was.

[@zyxw2000]

It costs $750,000 to build an Interceptor as it is.

[@VersatileVillains]

Who knows maybe the nets will help filter the water🤷🏻‍♂️

[@AmanSingh-oq1xj]

Love these introduction videos!

[@bebelives]

Love the Interceptors!!

[@user-ux3ch1gx4p]

thank you🇹🇭🇹🇭

[@cristiansantana8879]

Quisiera trabajar con ustedes es un gran cambio al ecosistema marino 🇵🇷 PR

[@dmwm771]

way to go, Team Thailand!

[@argfasdfgadfgasdfgsdfgsdfg6351]

Great work!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@MarcinSzoltysek-je3od]

Wooooow! You are amaizing!!!❤

[@inot88j24]

Good job 🎉

[@andrear4954]

Wow ❤

[@Steven-pi3uh]

Go Go Go!

[@rustyrusty7059]

Great job as always 👍🏻

[@amcnithi4072]

I'd also like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your merciful help.

[@zenwisdom4259]

there should be bubble lines to clean under the surface of the water.

[@JWnFlorida]

Awesome!

[@laskey2175]

Keep up the good work.

[@PaoloPazzaglia-re8wv]

Love you guys. And really would love to help you. Paolo, natural sciences teacher, Italia

[@yoram_snir]

Great video 🌊

[@kpakaify]

Wish you luck!

[@shaneyoung1690]

Nice

[@maryc4622]

Thank you…. How do you prevent “catching” ocean life? When I watch the dumps I have not seen any fish.

[@zyxw2000]

Because they move slowly so fish can swim away. If one gets in by mistake, they toss it back.

[@orionspur]

🙏🏻

[@iuliiavasiuta2740]

❤❤❤

[@harmhoeks5996]

You can also say the negative. Like the river being too wide. Or too many ships need to pass. This seems effective though 🎉. Also why not try the smaller side-rivers?

[@harmhoeks5996]

The video should be informative, not feelgood

[@GudasWorld]

Great work! How about a remote beach cleanup program? I bet you can setup most the labor as a volunteer vacation. Needed is a base ship. A landing craft. A system for collection & transport from the beach to the transport craft. A transport craft. And a website. 2 week rotation for the people who are the vacation crew. Its all about logistics. There are lots of very polluted islands beaches around the world. Cleaning them is going to have to happen. This should really be a part of TOC, like another division. The remote beach division. I'd pay to go on vacation to clean remote beaches. Bet others would also. Especially if the accommodations are nice & the foods awesome by foodie standards. I could go on ;)

[@zottelhuehs6375]

That sounds more along the lines of what 4 oceans are doing. They do a lot of beach clean ups

[@ingridwatsup9671]

Nonsens; that is cleaning at the end (the visual part) in stead of at the source where it really matters. Since you have the idea, why not start it yourself?

[@GudasWorld]

@@ingridwatsup9671 okay just leave all the garbage on the beaches then......

[@zottelhuehs6375]

@@GudasWorld there are a lot of organizations (like 4 oceans) that deal with beach and small river clean up. To my knowledge, ocean cleanup is the biggest/one of few organization that deals with open ocean and large rivers. Redirecting the limited resources that ocean cleanup has away from what they are doing in order to also do costal clean up would cause more damage, especially since others are already working on that problem. Also Ocean cleanup probably does not have the infrastructure for large cleanup groups etc., since they specialize in high tech, low personal solutions

[@GudasWorld]

@@zottelhuehs6375 the groups you all are refurring to are not cleaning remote beaches. The only people doing that work is random cruisers. The work has to be done at some point. The labor will come from volunteers. The funding, from donations. TOC has the best email list. I think they can do what ever they see fit to clean the ocean. Look up the videos for yourself. Small islands in the middle of nowhere covered in plastic. Kills birds & other sea life. Everyone can say "not my problem". But TOC will have to catch that plastic thats on those islands once it blows back into the water. I'd venture to say, if this idea was executed correctly. It would bring in more $ than it spends. Right now, as a test. Ask the community to see how many people would like to volunteer. 2 weeks in paridice picking up garbage sounds way more fun than sitting on a beach chair.

[@glasgowleeds]

Is there a video that compares the different generations of interceptor? I'd be really interested in the technology and how it's changed.

[@lvn968]

Great work, but living in Thailand, education is very important ! Thai tend to throw a lot away without even looking where they leave it...

[@Pottery4Life]

Is this system optimized for only plastic that floats? How about mid column and bottom plastic?

[@save_ocean]

Go in Thailand ❤❤🙏👍🙏😊😊😊😊

[@TheButterZone]

😊

[@Maggiegreti]

Have you ever heard of the UruUru-Lake in Bolivia which is polluted by 1000 of tons of plastic? 😢 There must be the possibillity to install one of your interceptors in the river(s) that flow in. To close the tap there even if it is not the ocean

[@TheLeeattwood]

🥰

[@DogonChild]

💙💙💙💙🌊

[@benmontes7062]

🌎

[@ChrisBigBad]

are you looking into the rebound effect? people thowing MORE trash into the river, "because the boat will pick it up".

[@Georgesorrus]

Please come to india

[@TylerSmithMusic1]

The only work that matters

[@mrwest5552]

@TylerSmithMusic1 - thumb down - think again.

[@annaylitalo6564]

👍🙏❤️🙏👍

[@PeaceYall666]

The global packaging industry needs a huge shake up to rethink of creating enviromental friendly packaging solutions to dominate its current systems idk but for decades this present outcome still sucks tho 👁️⚫️🌍🌎🌏☠️👽✨

[@AnkitKumar-dg5dg]

But I would like to ask What you generally do with all these waste.

[@Georgesorrus]

Narmada and yamuna

[@J-Vasa]

You know how during the moon landing kids had models of the rocket? I kinda want a model of the interceptor but made from plastic taken from the ocean lol

[@marylander3798]

how are these projects funded?

[@tsk8349]

Do u have any plans for India ??

[@martingoodef811]

Excellent project. Thai people’s problem sure but it becomes a world problem when their rubbish enters the world’s oceans. No country needs to act alone when this impacts on all countries therefore we need to act in unison.

[@bradpayne1265]

It would be great if you mentioned that burning plastic is against both federal and state laws in the US.

[@zyxw2000]

They're in Thailand.

[@golfzaaaa]

not all plastic can float, how can you deal with that?

[@Cookie0fPower]

Progress

[@bratanbrata7020]

Hello, how I can work with you? I’m living in Turkiye and I have EU citizenship.

[@mrwest5552]

i have to ask : what percentage of residents there daily toss ANY and All garbage out without regard to their environment and what education programs are in place to reduce that ? ?

[@posivibze]

wow the coca cola company is a partner?! how did you guys manage that!

[@maggusmaggistar7534]

!

[@oSnapMillerTime]

I want to help

[@theoceancleanup]

We appreciate your initiative! There are many ways to help - you can become a Citizen Scientist with our Ocean- and River Plastic Survey apps, share our mission with your network, join our team, donate, or start a Fundraiser. You can find more ideas by searching "How can I help" on our FAQs page at theoceancleanup.com/faq/.