Plastic waste sorting facility to be built along Sg Klang

LANDASAN Lumayan Sdn Bhd (LLSB) has inked a Memo-randum of Understanding (MoU) with The Ocean Cleanup to establish a plastic waste sorting facility along Sungai Klang.

The collaboration aims to propel end-to-end river cleaning solutions with circular economy objectives in Malaysia.

The Selangor Maritime Gateway (SMG) project will host The Ocean Cleanup’s first purpose-built sorting facility in Malaysia specially for plastics, with funding from Coca-Cola Malaysia for design and construction.

This in-house set-up will sort waste collected from Interceptor 002 as an initial site, with LLSB stepping in as the operator.

The Ocean Cleanup will assist in developing appropriate waste management strategies over the next three years.

The facility is expected to be operational by the first quarter of 2024.

The Interceptor 002 moored along Sungai Klang to suck out waste from the riverbed.

LLSB managing director Syaiful Azmen Nordin said, “The sorting facility is a pivotal step in our commitment towards reducing plastic waste in landfills through targeted waste management strategies.

“This will be our first concrete and long-term effort to establish a circular economy under SMG’s Integrated Water Resources Management solution for Sungai Klang.”

Founder and CEO of The Ocean Cleanup Boyan Slat reiterated the Dutch non-profit organisation’s broader mission to stem 80% of river plastic pollution flow to oceans.

He shared his satisfaction with waste removal efforts achieved in Sungai Klang.

“We must prevent waste, especially plastic, from entering the environment again.

“We can do this by either by creating durable new products or processing it.

“Working with LLSB to set up this sorting facility is a natural extension of the cleaning of Sungai Klang.

“This project aims to eventually bridge the gap between trash collection and repurposing,” said Slat.