Koh Kong administration distributes 50 bins to Peam Kreung community

 

Koh Kong Province: Mr. Ouk Pheaktra, Deputy Provincial Governor and HE Lok Phuot, Governor of the Koh Kong Provincial Council, welcomed HE Neth Pheaktra, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Environment, at the ceremony to distribute 50 bins to the Peam Kreung community in Peam Krasang commune.

 

The following news story is translated from this story published by the Koh Kong Provincial Administration in Cambodia. More photos are available on that page.

 

KOH KONG PROVINCE—The Koh Kong Administration, through the Secretariat of the Cambodian Coastal Management and Development Committee (Koh Kong), distributed some 50 trash bins to the Peam Kreung community as part of the implementation of a community-based solid waste management project supported under the GEF/UNDP/PEMSEA Scaling Up the Implementation of the Sustainable Development Strategy for the Seas of East Asia. This initiative also aims to:

 

• Disseminate information on proper waste disposal and value of environmental conservation
   
• Establish a model of community-based waste management practices for replication/expansion to other communities
   
• As a member of the PEMSEA Network of Local Governments for Sustainable Coastal Development (PNLG), contribute to the Marine Debris Initiatives, a new and agreed mechanism among PNLG members in 2019
   

As a first step, waste segregation is planned in 25 locations in the province using two color-coded bins. A green bin is for recyclable wastes such as bottles, cans, and old items; while a black bin will be used for trash that cannot be recycled.

 

On this occasion, HE Neth Pheaktra, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Environment, said that segregating and properly managing the community’s trash shows that “we have all considered our contribution to good hygiene and care for the communities and localities that we are living in.”  In addition, proper waste disposal through the use of trash bins is a manifestation of the daily waste management in the community and an expression of love for the environment.

 

He emphasized that the presence of trash bins in the community will promote proper sanitation to the community and to tourists that are visiting the area. Without an understanding on the detriments of littering, it is clear that some residents and tourists will simply dump rubbish in any area— including in some of Cambodia’s tourist attraction sites.

 

It should be noted that each year, Cambodia produces about 4 million tons of garbage, of which 65% is organic, 20% is plastic, and the rest is other wastes. Of these wastes, only 51% are collected and brought to dumpsites while the rests are dumped in the streets or burned.

 

Data in 2018 shows that the total amount of solid waste collected in the field totaled to about 1.7 million tonnes, an increase of more than 200,000 tonnes from 2017. By the end of 2018, city-wide solid waste management has not really improved in many districts, municipalities and urban areas in the country.