Wednesday, 21 May 2008
By Chun Sophal
The Mekong Times
A stinking mountain of trash just out of sniffing distance, Phnom Penh‘s Stung Meanchey dump has for decades been an obstinate reminder of Cambodia’s stubborn poverty. Officials said yesterday the dump is to close early next year.
The capital’s garbage is to be moved to a new location close to the Choeung Ek “Killing Fields,” Phnom Penh Municipality announced yesterday, a measure it said would ease the city’s growing trash woes.
In a speech commemorating “Anger Day” at Choeung Ek yesterday, Phnom Penh governor Kep Chuktema said that the new location “can cope with the increasing quantity of trash for a long time to come.”
The new 39 hectare area located in Baku village, Dangkao district will recycle Phnom Penh’s rubbish into compost, he said, claiming it could accommodate 1,000-1,500 tons of garbage per day for the next 15 years.
The seven hectare Stung Meanchey, 7km from the town centre, has been Phnom Penh’s main dump since the 1960s. It currently receives 800-1,000 tons of garbage daily, though officials say the site will reach capacity in only five or six more months.
“We will be elated if the dump’s location can be changed soon because the old location is now a garbage mountain,” said Svay Lorn, head of the Stung Meanchey dump.
Kep Chuktema said the relocation would mark a sea-change in Cambodian rubbish disposal.
“In future, we will teach citizens how to distinguish between different types of rubbish because rubbish is a kind of business,” he said, adding that the Municipality plans to employ scavengers to reclaim recyclable items.
Sam Phala, director of the Cambodian Education and Waste Management Organization (COMPED), said, recycling could provide around 500 jobs. COMPED produces 200 tons of fertilizer per year from garbage.
However, Kep Chuktema stressed scavengers from Stung Meanchey would be discouraged from relocating to the new site.
The capital’s garbage is to be moved to a new location close to the Choeung Ek “Killing Fields,” Phnom Penh Municipality announced yesterday, a measure it said would ease the city’s growing trash woes.
In a speech commemorating “Anger Day” at Choeung Ek yesterday, Phnom Penh governor Kep Chuktema said that the new location “can cope with the increasing quantity of trash for a long time to come.”
The new 39 hectare area located in Baku village, Dangkao district will recycle Phnom Penh’s rubbish into compost, he said, claiming it could accommodate 1,000-1,500 tons of garbage per day for the next 15 years.
The seven hectare Stung Meanchey, 7km from the town centre, has been Phnom Penh’s main dump since the 1960s. It currently receives 800-1,000 tons of garbage daily, though officials say the site will reach capacity in only five or six more months.
“We will be elated if the dump’s location can be changed soon because the old location is now a garbage mountain,” said Svay Lorn, head of the Stung Meanchey dump.
Kep Chuktema said the relocation would mark a sea-change in Cambodian rubbish disposal.
“In future, we will teach citizens how to distinguish between different types of rubbish because rubbish is a kind of business,” he said, adding that the Municipality plans to employ scavengers to reclaim recyclable items.
Sam Phala, director of the Cambodian Education and Waste Management Organization (COMPED), said, recycling could provide around 500 jobs. COMPED produces 200 tons of fertilizer per year from garbage.
However, Kep Chuktema stressed scavengers from Stung Meanchey would be discouraged from relocating to the new site.
5 comments:
This is HUN SEN idea. 100% support no child left behind and they all 100% go to trash dump area. Wow, HUN SEN can't see this. Why don't he make law like America "No Child Left Behind" for school??? Poor future Cambodian kids only know the trash dump area. This is totally the YOUN's trick. They don't want to create law for youn Cambodian kids for school. Like almost 99% of HUN SEN officials in his administration are YOUN. So, they don't see situation. HUN SEN needs to wake up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Not to mention they prospitution as the career for our children?
what's the big fuss over the closing of garbage dump near phnom penh? on the planet, where there are people living there are sure to be trash dump. take the philipines or thailand for example, there are always squatters for food and other items from the dump there as well, so what is the big deal? open your eyes and look around the world, it is not unique to cambodia.
Dude if you are being a father of your kids, would you like to see your kids going thru trash dumb? Not me bro.
I will tell you why this is bad news and this is from someone that's going to Stung Meanchey in a week. When a family comes to work in the dump they are escaping even worse conditions in their homeland. When a child starts working in the dump it's not long before some NGO origination will come and provide help. Just off the top of my head I can think of 3 NGO's that have 500-700 kids that stay full time at their center. What will happen to them now? The new dump is located in a somewhat remote part of Cambodia. I also like the part about "We will employee them". That means the government will now take a cut of the profits.
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