A solar-powered garbage collecting raft made by a Dutchman is helping to clean rivers in Thailand.

The vessel Interceptor 019, from the non-profit organisation The Ocean Cleanup in the Netherlands, was brought to Bangkok in February to help collect trash polluting the Chao Phraya River.

It was designed by the organisation's founder, Boyan Slat, 29, and was officially launched into the waters on March 26.

Footage shows Interception 019 stopping the waste from flowing across the river in the Thai capital city and collecting it.

The Ocean Cleanup partnered with Chulalongkorn University for the project, as the country remains one of the top plastic polluters in the world. Wastes are emitted into the Gulf of Thailand.

The Ocean Cleanup said: ‘Dozens of smaller canals feed the Chao Phraya, and much of the waste that ends up in the river – and heads towards the Gulf of Thailand – arrives via these canals. Interceptor 019 will immediately begin capturing trash and impacting the problem.

‘We have already installed a series of cameras on bridges in Bangkok as part of our wider study into plastic pollution. These cameras take frequent pictures, which allow us to build a picture of the amount of trash in the river, what it might consist of, and the routes it takes while floating downstream.'

Thailand is among the top 10 countries contributing the most plastic waste leaking into the oceans globally, according to studies and reports by groups like Ocean Conservancy. It is estimated that Thailand generates over 2 million tons of plastic waste per year, with a large portion ending up in waterways and the ocean due to inadequate waste management systems.