When Jeans Jam the River: Klang’s Unexpected Pollution Crisis
Sometimes pollution comes from unexpected sources, not just plastics or industrial waste, but everyday items we take for granted. Klang River is currently grappling with an unusual but pervasive form of pollution: discarded jeans. These non-biodegradable clothes are clogging equipment and hampering clean-up efforts. Let’s dive into how a piece of clothing has become one of the river’s biggest headaches and what’s being done about it.
The Denim Dilemma
According to Datuk Izham Hashim, state Infrastructure and Agriculture Committee chairman, while the river contains a variety of waste, from mattresses and tires to old cars, the jeans are particularly troublesome. These garments have tangled around the blades of cutter suction machines used to remove debris from the riverbed, sometimes causing severe damage.
Why Jeans Refuse to Decompose
Despite being immersed in water for years, the jeans show virtually no signs of decay, making them persistently problematic. “So, the moral of the story here is, do not dump your unwanted jeans into rivers,” Datuk Izham emphasized.
Cleanup Tools Facing Denim
Efforts to clean the Klang River include deployment of Interceptor machines—solar-powered cleanup vessels developed by Dutch NGO The Ocean Cleanup. Since 2016, these units have collected approximately 95,000 metric tonnes of floating debris. However, jeans lodged in the riverbed continue to challenge mechanical cleanup.
Beyond Machines: The Role of Communities
While large equipment handles floating waste, there’s still a specialty for community efforts in handling tough-to-reach debris like tangled clothing along riverbanks and mangroves. These volunteer-driven clean-ups have removed items that machines can’t easily tackle.
Why the River Matters
The Klang River stretches roughly 120 km, flowing through Kuala Lumpur and Selangor before emptying into the Strait of Malacca. Its course through densely populated regions has made it vulnerable to pollution from domestic sewage, informal settlements, industries, and urban development. Clothing waste like jeans joins this concerning list of pollutants.
You’d never expect jeans to be a major polluter, yet here we are—cloth clogging cleanup machines and interrupting the flow of Klang River restoration. It’s a striking reminder: our everyday actions and what we do with our old clothes can impact the environment in unexpected ways.You’d never expect jeans to be a major polluter, yet here we are—cloth clogging cleanup machines and interrupting the flow of Klang River restoration. It’s a striking reminder: our everyday actions and what we do with our old clothes can impact the environment in unexpected ways.
