MAS pilots innovative trash trap project to address marine plastic issue
View(s):MAS Holdings is piloting an innovative solution to cap the problem of plastic waste at the source itself, by capturing plastic waste in the rivers and canals which play a critical role in transporting mismanaged plastic waste from land to ocean.
Trash trap at the Dehiwela canal.
By installing trash traps in the canals that push plastic waste into the oceans, MAS plans to address the issue head on by trapping, collecting and removing plastic waste before reaching the ocean.
The pilot of the proposed solution, a prototype ‘ocean strainer’ trash trap, was placed in the Dehiwala canal recently, to prevent plastic waste from reaching the ocean through the canal mouth, the company said in a media release.
The pilot, which is an expansion of MAS’s ocean plastics initiative, was launched on August 18, with the participation of Ms. Chandrani Samarakoon, Secretary to the Ministry of Local Government and Environmental Affairs of the Western Provincial Council; Sumith Nishantha Perera, Director – Planning, Ministry of Local Government of the Western Provincial Council; Sharika Senanayake, Director – Environmental Sustainability at MAS Holdings, and other members of the respective teams.
“At MAS, we started working on the ocean plastic issue in 2015, not only to help clear up our beaches of plastic waste, but also to upcycle that waste by recycling the plastic to create yarn that can be used in our products. Developing the ‘ocean strainer’ is the next step in this effort, to create a more sustainable approach to addressing the marine plastic issue by capturing it at the source”, said Sid Amalean, Head of Sustainable Business at MAS Holdings.
This initiative is the result of a successful private-public collaboration between MAS, the Western Provincial Council, the Marine Environment Protection Authority, the Sri Lanka Land Reclamation and Development Corporation (SLLRDC), with the support of the Western Province Tourism Development Authority, the Environmental Police and the people of the Dehiwala area.