Garbage disposal discussed
The second national workshop on better waste management was held in the capital this week to discuss and finalize a strategy to deal with Cambodia’s less-than-effective methods of garbage disposal. Officials from the Ministry of Environment met with the Japan-based Institute of Global Environmental Strategies as well as the UN’s International Environmental Technology Center to discuss and finalize an action plan. As Cambodia’s growth continues to escalate, its production of waste has followed suit, with current methane emissions from landfill sites across Cambodia’s four major cities being estimated as high as 360,000 tons of CO2 equivalent per year, according to the workshop’s agenda. While not as high as neighboring countries, Cambodia’s lack of proper solid waste management exposes the country to greater environmental and health risks. The agenda states that simple pits or large open space areas are used as dumping sites, which do not comply with international standards as they lack covering soil, fire control systems and methane gas collection systems.
