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.
