Combatting plastic pollution in Cambodia

 

Khmer Circle: 

Banning plastic imports and replacing plastic with degradable or organic materials would be a good start.

^^^

Khmer Times

A sewage canal filled with plastic. UNDP

The Ministry of Environment (MoE), the Embassy of Japan, GIZ implemented 3RproMar Project and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) organised the 3rd National Forum on “Combatting Plastic Pollution in Cambodia” earlier this month.

This forum brought together more than 250 people from the government, development partners and NGOs, the private sector, academia, and the arts. The main purposes were to share Cambodia’s efforts to combat plastic pollution, to feature creative awareness-raising initiatives, and to introduce innovative circular businesses for tackling plastic pollution.

Cambodia’s recent rapid economic and population growth has drastically increased plastic waste, with many negative impacts on Cambodia’s environment and public health.

Choup Paris, Under Secretary of State, Ministry of Environment stated that “To tackle plastic pollution, the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) through MoE and line ministries implemented measures to promote the 4Rs (Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle) with active involvement of citizens, private sector, and NGOs.”

 

Ms Alissar Chaker, Resident Representative, UNDP Cambodia highlighted that, “plastic pollution has become a planetary crisis, which requires joint action by all countries regardless of income level, taking into consideration the entire lifecycle of plastic from design to production, trade, consumption, and eventually waste management (collection, disposal, and recycling)”.

Echoing her, Taninai Ichitomo, Minister, Deputy Chief of Mission of the Embassy of Japan affirmed that “We urgently need circular solutions to respond to the plastic crisis, through reducing the consumption and production of single-use plastics, and reusing and recycling plastics. The draft sub-decree on plastic management will be a game changer by laying the critical foundation for future directions in plastic management.”

Stefan Messerer, Ambassador of Germany further emphasized that “Tackling the environmental challenge such as plastic pollution cannot be solved by a single party. It requires close partnerships for collaborative innovation and knowledge sharing among governments, development organizations, private sector, and civil society”.

Paris, the Under Secretary of State, Ministry of Environment concluded that “the Ministry is deeply committed to making Cambodia, its cities, waterways, and landscapes clean and free from plastic pollution. I invite everyone present to join our collective effort to preserve the cleanliness, natural beauty and diversity of our beloved country.” UNDP