Since June 2021, a garbage collecting boat has been piloted on Cần Thơ river within the area of Xuân Khánh ward, Ninh Kiều district. This automatic garbage collecting interceptor was invented by the Dutch non-governmental organization – The Ocean Cleanup, which was founded by the Dutch engineer Boyan Slat. Its overall aim is to remove ocean plastic waste. The interceptor is powered by solar energy and it needs only one person to operate the system. The Ocean Cleanup has been working with Cần Thơ city since 2018 to initiate this project. The system was also tested in Indonesia and Malaysia.
The pilot is within the framework of the project “Thu gom tự động rác nổi trên sông tại TP Cần Thơ” (Automatic trash collection on river in Cần Thơ) and will last for nine months. The project manager is Cần Thơ´s Department of Natural Resources and Environment. The project is implemented by Cần Thơ Urban Joint Stock Company. The total funding of the project is 19.8 billion VNĐ, in which the Netherlands provides 14.6 billion VNĐ as non-refundable aids and the counterpart fund from Cần Thơ is 5.2 billion VNĐ.
Sources & further information: “Thu gom tự động rác nổi trên sông” at https://baocantho.com.vn, “Máy thu gom rác tự động trên sông Cần Thơ” at https://nld.com.vn, “Ocean Cleanup to Pilot Trash-Collecting Boat in Can Tho” at https://saigoneer.com, and “Can Tho, Netherlands to partner in automatic garbage collection” at https://en.vietnamplus.vn, accessed on 26 July 2021.