MAS Holdings’ Ocean Strainer was named a finalist in the Water category as a part of the 2022 World Changing Ideas Awards. The ‘Ocean Strainer’ is a pilot floating trash trap installed in the Dehiwala canal in Colombo, and has expanded to eight other locations through open-source partnerships across the country since its launch in August 2020. Research showed that rivers and canals are the sources of 80% of the plastic that reaches the ocean. Therefore, the team at MAS Holdings needed to address the marine plastic issue at the source by trapping and removing the waste before it reaches the ocean. The result was the Ocean Strainer, a barrier made from a buoyant foam and canvas that floats across the length of the canal and traps plastic waste before reaching the ocean through the canal mouth. The waste is collected daily by an appointed resource person from the community along the canal, and project partners, Clean Ocean Force and the local Provincial Council support the collection and disposal of garbage. With 100 km of the canal network in Sri Lanka, canals provided an opportunity to develop an innovative yet simple solution that could be low cost and easily replicated across locations to create greater impact.
Resource : https://www.sundayobserver.lk/2022/05/08/mas-holdings%E2%80%99-ocean-strainer-among-finalists