The Ocean Cleanup Deploys Interceptor in Meycauayan River, Philippines

The Ocean Cleanup deployed its first river Interceptor barrier in the Meycauayan River, Philippines, as part of its 30 Cities Program targeting the most plastic-polluted urban waterways. The Meycauayan River flows through Bulacan province in the Manila Bay watershed — one of the most plastic-polluted coastal areas in Southeast Asia. The Interceptor barrier replaces an existing manual trash trap and is projected to intercept between 370 and 540 metric tons of plastic annually before it reaches Manila Bay and the Pacific Ocean. The Philippines is among the world's top contributors of ocean-bound plastic by river load, and the Manila Bay region receives heavy plastic input from multiple tributary rivers. The deployment represents the first Ocean Cleanup installation in the country and part of a broader planned network of Interceptors across the Manila Bay watershed.