This week we’ve finally launched our No-Trash River Project! Our project aims to install 20 barriers across Manado to dramatically reduce the amount of plastic waste entering Bunaken National Marine Park. This work has kicked off thanks to funding from 3RProMar, implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), in partnership with the ASEAN Secretariat. We launched the project this week with the installation of the first barrier at the mouth of the Sario river. This barrier will stop the flow of plastic and force it to congregate in one place. Our team will then carry out regular waste collections, properly processing the waste that’s collected, with over 20% likely recyclable.

Plastic pollution in rivers is a major global problem, with 5.8 million tons of plastic thought to end up in our rivers every year.* Studies have shown that smaller urban rivers are some of the most polluted.** The rivers which flow through Manado go straight into Bunaken National Marine Park. The plastic pollution is putting this incredibly diverse ecosystem at risk as well as people’s health and livelihoods. Projects like No-Trash River are vital when it comes to protecting our ocean environments from this threat.

The design NTTI river barrier module is a variation of the Trash Boom of Plastic Fischer — The design of NTTI river barrier module is a variation of the Trash Boom of Plastic Fischer.

We plan on taking a holistic approach, working not only to stop the flow of plastic in the rivers themselves but also working with local communities to prevent the plastic from entering the river in the first place. We plan to work with local communities and schools, engaging young people and community representatives to come together and form the River Gang. This group of advocates will work with friends and family to educate and encourage them to look after their environment, with the No-Trash Triangle Initiative providing proper waste management infrastructure so that the locals have proper facilities to get rid of their trash.

We’ve already found the first member of our River Gang, having hired Andre Tingkai, a young man from the area who has already started to make changes to how he uses plastic in his day to day life. Our team has grown quickly over the past couple of years and the No-Trash River project is likely to see many more jobs being created, contributing to the circular economic model we’re creating. There are already seven employees from the local community working across our waste management solution. Support from local resorts, associations and businesses has enabled this growth and will also be fundamental as the No-Trash River project expands and grows.

We have ambitious plans to scale the project and intend to install multiple barriers on rivers across Manado. Combined, these barriers should prevent 250 tonnes of waste entering the ocean each year, making a huge difference to the local environment. The work has just begun!

*OECD Global Plastics Outlook Database, https://doi.org/10.1787/c0821f81-en

**Meijer, L. J. J., van Emmerik, T., van der Ent, R., Schmidt, C., & Lebreton, L. (n.d.). More than 1000 rivers account for 80% of global riverine plastic emissions into the ocean. Science Advances, 7(18), eaaz5803. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aaz5803

No-Trash River Project is LIVE!