By Norrasyidah Arshad
SHAH ALAM, Sept 24 — The garbage patch machine known as Interceptor 005 donated by the British rock band, Coldplay, will start operating early next month.
State executive councillor for infrastructure Ir Izham Hashim said the Interceptor 005 will be the second machine to be utilised for the cleanup of Sungai Klang and it is in the final phase of construction.
“Based on our records, the cleanup works at Sungai Klang using the (first machine) Interceptor 202 have started to show results as the water quality now stands at level three and four compared to level seven and eight previously,” he said on Facebook, yesterday.
Earlier, Izham officiated the World River Day 2021 celebration in Selangor at Taman Pengkalan Batu, near Sungai Klang, and witnessed the Interceptor 202 at work.
In addition, he released young catfish into the river with the hope to boost the ecosystem.
Also present were Drainage and Irrigation Department (Director Datuk Ir Gapar Asan, Landasan Lumayan Sdn Bhd managing director Syaiful Azmen Nordin and Berjaya Land chief executive officer Syed Ali Sahul Hameed.
The cleanup efforts using the Interceptor 202 were motivated by The Ocean Cleanup, a nonprofit environmental organisation based in the Netherlands.
In March, Coldplay had announced its intention to collaborate with The Ocean Cleanup in an effort to rehabilitate polluted rivers around the globe, including in Malaysia.