(Zero) Waste in Cambodia: Status quo & Challenges Introduction Population growth and changing lifestyles are resulting in an increasing amount of waste, the management of which poses a challenge for many countries, as well as in Cambodia. This dossier aims to acknowledge the existing potential in Cambodia in terms of sustainable waste management. The potential of Cambodian’s civil society, especially women, who are indispensable for the transformation of Cambodia's waste management and who are already in the process of doing so. By Marie Kaiser
(Zero) Waste & Gender Dossier This dossier is about the prevalent nature of waste. Waste is a part of everyone's daily life around the world and the amount is increasing, partly due to our society’s fast-paced lifestyle. This dossier focuses, on the zero waste approach and its applicability in the Mekong region, especially Cambodia. Moreover, it presents Cambodia's best practices in waste reduction at the level of civil society. Further to that , it looks at one important player in waste management: the women. It analyzes the nexus between gender and waste and how it is perceived in Cambodia. Introduction: Waste Management in Cambodia Population growth and changing lifestyles are resulting in an increasing amount of waste, the management of which poses a challenge for many countries, as well as in Cambodia. This dossier aims to acknowledge the existing potential in Cambodia in terms of sustainable waste management. The potential of Cambodian’s civil society, especially women, who are indispensable for the transformation of Cambodia's waste management and who are already in the process of doing so. Garbage bags in front of a house in Siem Riep, Cambodia [Shutterstock]. In Cambodia, a country characterized by rapid urbanization, economic growth and changing lifestyles, 4.78 million tons of waste were generated in urban areas in 2020, an average of 0.78 kg per capita per day (worldwide average of 0.74 kg per capita per day). These statistics only refer to municipal solid waste, i.e. waste from households, services, or commercial activities, which do not contain toxic substances or hazardous waste. The generation of waste per capita is expected to double to 2.13 kg by 2050. The largest amount of waste is food and organic waste (55%), followed by plastics (10%) and glass (8%). In Phnom Penh, the amount of plastic waste has increased from 6% of the total amount in 1999 to 21% in 2015. Waste collection reached an average collection rate of 72% in 2021, with Phnom Penh leading at 92%. Nationally, around 44% of municipal solid waste is landfilled, 4% is recycled, 4% incinerated, 2% is composted, while the remaining 46% is disposed of in an uncontrolled manner. Recycling is mainly performed by the informal sector. There are about 3000 informal (?) waste pickers in Cambodia walking from house to house collecting recyclable materials and sell them to waste buyers or scrap stores (Pheakdey et al. 2022). There are numerous laws and regulations enacted by the government to control the waste sector. Since 1996, the Ministry of the Environment (MoE) has been responsible for developing the regulations (Open Development Cambodia 2016). The provincial and city authorities conduct the implementation of the regulations. A sub-decree from 2015 permits the authorities to engage private operators for the waste collection. Thus, private companies in cities primarily carry out waste collection. However, in rural areas, waste management is more or less outsourced to local market administrators, households, or the community due to little profitability. This result in people’s waste being buried, burnt or illegally dumped in rural areas. There are also approaches by the state, aiming for the reduction and recycling of waste, such as the introduction of the 3-R strategy (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) (2008); a fee of 400 riel per plastic bag in supermarkets (2017); the installation of 74 waste containers for batteries (2021); as well as the establishment of a National Committee for the Management of Municipal Solid Waste in order to e.g. develop strategies for the introduction of WTE (Waste-to-Energy) (2021) (Pheakdey et al. 2022). In addition, the MoE launched the "Today I don't use plastic bags" campaign at the beginning of October 2023. The goal is to raise public awareness and encourage greater community participation to change attitudes and lifestyles towards plastic use (Ministry of Environment 2023). The several sub-decrees and approaches to waste minimization look good on paper but lack proper implementation. There is a need of national recycling infrastructure to implement the 3-R strategy. For now, recycling relies on the informal sector with around 3000 waste pickers collecting recyclable waste and sell it to junkshops. The domestic recycling activity is low and most of the recyclable materials are exported. As long as there is no proper recycling, the landfills require infrastructure with efficient control system. Furthermore, there are no distinct bins where citizens can separate their waste, which is needed for recycling. In general, there is no clear schedule for collection and the already mentioned limited coverage of collection in rural areas poses an additional problem. Last but not least, the distribution of responsibilities is challenging, as the responsibilities of ministries, city, and provincial authorities often overlap and are not clearly determined (Pheakdey et al. 2022). The challenge of waste and its management in Cambodia become clear. Although the amount of waste is expected to increase further, the subsidization of adequate recycling infrastructure in Cambodia remains hesitant. However, waste has the potential to be used as a resource, for example to produce energy or fertiliser, and also to increase economic inclusion and social recognition of marginalised groups. The former is described in the articles on zero waste, what the zero waste approach means, how it can be applied in countries such as Cambodia, and what projects already exist here that have already recognised the potential of waste. The last two articles look at the nexus between gender and waste, attempting to establish this nexus in the Cambodian context and to look at the role of women in waste management with a view to mainstreaming gender in waste management. References Ministry of Environment (2023): Ministry of Environment Initiates Ambitious Campaign to Reduce Plastic Bag Usage in Cambodia. Online Available: https://www.moe.gov.kh/index/47091. Last updated: 01/12/23. Open Development Cambodia (2016): Law on Environmental Protection and Management of Natural Resources. Online available: https://data.opendevelopmentcambodia.net/laws_record/law-on-environment-protection-and-management-of-natural-resources/resource/9d42dc32-17bb-42fe-82ce-03a0dbe523eb. Last updated: 01/12/23. Pheakdey, D.V.; Quan, N.V.; Khanh, T.D.; Xuan, T.D (2022): Challenges and Priorities of Municipal Solid Waste Management in Cambodia. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 19, 8458. By Marie Kaiser
Gendered Landscape of Waste Management in Cambodia “In Cambodia, women clean the dishes at home, women take the waste to the garbage bin […] So they play a very important role in waste management at household level.” – says Sok Serey, Professor of Philosophy at the Royal University of Cambodia. By Marie Kaiser
Nexus Gender & Waste Article This article looks at the interconnection between gender and waste. Gender, as a social construct shaping our norms, behaviors, and roles, intertwines with waste, (also) an omnipresent companion of our daily lives. The connection may not be visible at first glance, but simply because, as the UNEP beautifully puts it, “it simply mirrors what is seen elsewhere” (Nakamura 2022). The symbiotic relationship between gender and waste is best illustrated by tracing the different levels of the waste sector. Household, community, operation and policy are all areas involved in a country's waste management and are also intertwined with gender, together forming an unbroken cycle. By Marie Kaiser
The Zero Waste Approach and its Applicability to Cambodia South East Asian countries are depicted with plastic polluted beaches, plastic waste on the curbsides, and marine animals washed up on shore with plastics found in their stomachs. However, a closer look at the waste sector of specific cities and municipalities in some countries reveals a remarkable zero waste movement. This article embarks on an exploration of the zero waste approach and discusses its feasibility for Cambodia. By Marie Kaiser
Signing the new Memorandum of Understanding with Ministry of Environment Signing the new Memorandum of Understanding with Ministry of Environment on future cooperation in the field of Sustainable Cities. It was mentioned that in order to promote sustainability of cities all parts of population must be included in planning and implementation: young and old, men and women, rich and poor.
Veins of Phnom Penh: Urban waste pickers as the best infrastructure for recycling waste Image credits Waste is pervasive. Its omnipresence in urban Phnom Penh is undeniable. It’s there. On the streets, in the corners, in the backyards of ownerless properties – in the waste pickers’ pushcarts and the Cintri workers’ hands. Its visibility robs the city’s breath. But its pulse still goes through its vein. The vein which has been erected and hand-built by mainly women waste pickers who constantly collect recyclable waste pieces while looping around the city. These people collect what they find to be sellable and reusable. These people basically make keep the city clean. By Kathrin Eitel
On our way to Siem Reap: too much rubbish in the midst of beautiful nature. Really sad. More rubbish collecting action like that of some youth in Siem Reap needed.
