Sihanoukville’s New Landfill – A Role Model

Sihanoukville’s newly constructed landfill site was considered as a high standard one that could be duplicated for waste management across Cambodia.

The claim was made by H.E. Neth Pheaktra, Secretary of State and Spokesperson at the Ministry of Environment when hosting a group of journalists to see the landfill at the coastal city.

According to the secretary of state, the new landfill encompasses five hectares of land surface with four pits that could load nearly one million tonnes of garbage, and was structured with standardised waste management process.

The landfill was a project of the Royal Government of Cambodia which was executed by the Ministry of Public Works and Transport and handed over to the Ministry of Environment after the completion on Nov. 5.

Cambodia is expected to have six more of such landfills in Kep, Kampong Chhnang, Pursat, Battambang, and Kampot in 2022 — thanks to the support from development partners such as the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank.

Other provinces including Siem Reap and Banteay Meanchey will also have one in a near future, added H.E. Neth Phreaktra.

Mr. Hok Sophannaro, the director of Sihanoukville urban landfill, shared that a daily average of around 400 tonnes of garbage was dumped at the site since it was operated.

Cambodia generated over 10,000 tonnes a day or four million tonnes per year of garbage, 65 percent of it is organic waste, 20 percent is plastic, and the rest is solid waste; and the amount is predicted to increase between 10 to 20 percent annually.

While focusing on improving the landfill site, the Ministry of Environment is also promoting the garbage classification to make it economically viable.

Source: Agency Kampuchea Press