Rivers are a major pathway for plastic waste, carrying pollution from inland cities toward coastal and marine environments. In Can Tho – the largest city in Viet Nam's Mekong Delta – an extensive network of waterways makes this a particularly acute challenge that conventional waste services are not designed to address.

This report draws on four years of operating the Interceptor 003, a solar-powered automated waste collection system developed by The Ocean Cleanup, on the Can Tho River. It documents operational performance, cost structures, and the steps taken to establish the financial and regulatory frameworks needed to sustain the system as a permanent public service.
The findings offer transferable lessons for cities seeking to move from short-term clean-up efforts to structured, long-term approaches to river waste management.