Climate Change

Aok Sochenda walks through Toul Tom Poung market in Phnom Penh, holding a plate of beloved grilled pork and rice. But this plate of traditional Cambodian breakfast has an additional topping: cut-up pieces of a credit card.

Cambodia produces more than 10,000 tons of waste every day, totaling more than 4 million tons over a year. A large part of this trash goes uncollected as most provinces do not provide collection services, even though it is the responsibility of local administrations. 

Kruy Phal sits at a small store on a dusty road right next to a massive condominium development in southern Phnom Penh, selling snacks, groceries and bright colored ice cream popsicles. Village residents stop at her store, buy a pink or purple or bean filled popsicle, not far from the boulevard that dissects the fast-disappearing Boeung Tompun lake.