AkzoNobel joins forces with The Ocean Cleanup to support purge on plastic in rivers

The Ocean Cleanup has launched a new project to help rid the seas of plastic waste with AkzoNobel providing coatings technology for the garbage-gathering system.

The latest venture is focused on the Interceptor, a floating device which can extract plastic debris from rivers, preventing it from adding to the build-up in our oceans.

It has already been tested in the Netherlands and South East Asia, with the plan to place Interceptors in 1,000 rivers over the next five years

Each Interceptor system is capable of extracting up to 50,000 kilos of trash per day and has a storage capacity of 50m3.

The devices feature protective coatings from AkzoNobel’s International product range, notably Intershield 300. The supplied coatings system provides high performance anti-corrosion, with minimal maintenance required.

“As official coatings partner to The Ocean Cleanup, we’re fully committed to supporting the fantastic work they’re doing to stop the world drowning in plastic,” says Jean Michel Gauthier, Global Business Director for AkzoNobel’s Marine, Protective and Yacht Coatings business.

“As well as supplying marine coatings with a proven track record, our experts were also involved in the design of the Interceptor devices, so we’re excited to see them deployed in rivers around the world.”

The partnership between AkzoNobel and The Ocean Cleanup was launched in 2017. Technical teams from both parties are continuing to work closely together to develop coatings solutions for the ocean cleaning systems, which are still in the prototype phase.

Testing of the devices is continuing in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, with work on the latest prototype already underway.