The ‘Community Solution for Plastic-Free Coastlines’ programme was rolled out in Preah Sihanouk province on Thursday. ENVIRONMENT MINISTRY
The “Community Solution for Plastic-Free Coastlines” programme was rolled out in Preah Sihanouk province on February 17 to tackle the growing issue of plastic pollution in Cambodia’s coastal areas.
The launch ceremony was presided over by Ministry of Environment adviser and national project director Kith Chankrisna, the ministry affirmed on February 17.
Also present were representatives from the Preah Sihanouk Provincial Administration and the provincial Department of Environment, along with UN Development Programme (UNDP) environmental expert Moeko Saito Jensen, TONTOTON CEO Barak Ekshtein, and Global Plastic Action Partnership executive director Kristin Hughes.
The ministry underscored that community engagement would be indispensable in solving the problem of plastics in coastal areas.
Chankrisna said: “[We] promote and encourage the community to produce materials instead of using and recycling plastics. That is an important part of reducing the use of plastics.”
Although the government and ministry have developed laws, procedures and a strategic policy framework on urban solid waste management, everyone must join hands to curb the plastic pollution problem for future generations, he stressed.
As a company that sells plastic credits, TONTOTON will work with communities in Preah Sihanouk to collect plastics from coastal areas for incineration at a site managed by Chip Mong Insee Cement Corp in Kampot province to the east, the ministry said.
Through the programme, more than 3,000 tonnes of plastics are expected to be collected by the end of this year, it added.
The ministry earlier reported that Cambodia produces more than 10,000 tonnes of rubbish per day, or nearly four million tonnes per year, a figure it noted may rise about 15 per cent each year as the population grows.
Of that, organic waste accounted for about 68 per cent, plastic waste was more than 20 per cent and solid or hazardous waste was around 10 per cent, it said.
It urged proper management of plastic waste, cautioning that it may contain hazardous substances.
