Photo: VCG

Scooping waste from a Malaysian river to stop it from reaching the sea, a solar-powered barge named the "Interceptor" is the latest weapon in a global battle to rid the world's waters of plastic.

Trash is being dumped into seas and rivers in enormous quantities, polluting vital habitats, endangering a kaleidoscope of marine life and sullying once pristine tourist spots.

But as governments struggle in the face of the growing tide, a Dutch nonprofit group, The Ocean Cleanup, has come up with a novel solution in the form of the Interceptor.

The 24-meter-long vessel resembles a large houseboat and uses a curved barrier to catch waste floating downstream.

The trash, much of it plastic, is directed to the "mouth" of the barge from where it rolls up a conveyor belt and is dropped into dumpsters.

In October an Interceptor was stationed on the Klang river, a heavily polluted, major Malaysian waterway which flows through the capital Kuala Lumpur and its surrounding areas.

AFP