Waste Management in Cambodia under Control

By Soy Sophea

Every morning before leaving home for work, a mother of a one-and-half-year-old daughter looks carefully for used batteries.

Sen Sereyroathana, 23, started collecting used batteries after she saw a TV promotion urging citizens to separate used batteries from other household rubbish. She said that following the TV spot, she now understands about the impact spent batteries have on the environment. She added that her husband uses at least five pairs of batteries per month to power his interest in digital photography.

Returning to environmental considerations, Sereyroathana said she used to attempt to lure her husband into cooperating with her plans for safe battery disposal, especially since the family has a young and inquisitive daughter to protect. However, as is the case with many husbands, she said hers remained somewhat careless in following her commands.

“I now have to take the used batteries the moment they are spent and my husband has no more use for them. Otherwise, they roll around the house for months and I live in fear of my daughter swallowing one of them.”

According to Mann Chhoeurn, Deputy Governor of the Phnom Penh Municipality, Cambodia imports 5,000 tones of batteries from neighboring countries each year.

In order to assist Cambodia manage her waste chemical management procedures, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) has recently started an 18-month project that will cost US $198,420. This project has been managed by the Ministry of the Environment, with participation and cooperation from the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy and the Customs Department.

Lay Khim, Team Leader for the UNDP’s Energy and Environment project, said, “The project aims to integrate chemical management into the country's development planning processes.”
“It will assess the management of the chemical regimes adopted by individual industrial sectors, as well as establishing an umbrella or overall plan to begin addressing gaps in the national regime,” Khim said. “It also aims to improve the incorporation of chemical management priorities and procedures into the national development discourse and planning agenda.”

He explained that Cambodian industry, as with industries across the world, is a consumer of chemical substances. Therefore, it needs to review carefully the management of substances in order to protect the health of the people and the health of the environment. The Team Leader added that in the last five years, the nation’s consumption of industrial chemicals had increased dramatically. The need then for a proper system of chemical management was clear.

Ou Bun, Deputy Governor of Phnom Penh Municipality, said that preventing potentially dangerous disposal practices and educating people about the impact of chemicals on the environment were priorities for local authorities. He also said that the Phnom Penh Municipality has created a number of strategies to enhance the beauty of the city.

The Deputy Governor said at a medical waste management symposium on May 21 this year that the improved management of liquid and solid waste is just one of the municipality’s goals. He also said that at least 1,000 tones of all kinds of wastes were being transported to the dump sites everyday. He said that according to a recent report commissioned by the Phnom Penh Municipal Health Department, 1.5 tones of hazardous used medical equipment was transported to the Stung Meanchey dump site each day.

Referring to waste management, Pa Socheate Vong, Deputy Governor of Phnom Penh Municipality, said he knew that changing residents’ behavior and implementing improved waste disposal habits was not going to be easy. He said, “We have to be prepared and geared towards affecting change in our peoples’ habits through education.”

Pa Socheate Vong said that the project, with support from the UNDP, which has been in operation since last month, could help Phnom Penh’s Municipality control litters.
According to the UNDP’s resident expert, the Cambodian people, especially the poor, will benefit from the project.