Environment Ministry to halt river dumping
Environment Ministry spokesman Sao Sopheap said on November 17 that residents of Derm Sleng village in Chbar Ampov would not be allowed to continue disposing of their trash into the Tonle Sap river, with his ministry asking City Hall officials to end the practice. Yesterday, the Post reported that the village, which lacks regular municipal trash collection services, was using the river as its dumpsite, with garbage accumulating in a 12-by-10-metre pile along a riverbank before spilling down into the river’s waters. A video showing workers sweeping Water Festival trash into the river had sparked public outrage only a day before, and Sopheap said yesterday that using the river as a dump was “unacceptable for the ministry”. “This affects our water quality . . . and causes environmental problems,” Sopheap said, adding that Derm Sleng village would now not be allowed to dump in the river. “They cannot continue to do so.”
