Waste Management in Cambodia

Hello everyone,

As an expat in Cambodia, waste management can often pose challenges and requires an understanding of local standards and regulations. Understanding local practices is essential for environmental compliance and seamless integration into daily life.

Here are some points to share your experience:

How can you learn about waste management in Cambodia (types of waste collected, sorting, collection days, recycling, bulky items, etc.)? Do local authorities provide information on waste management to newcomers?

What are the main differences you've noticed compared to your home country in terms of waste management? How have you adapted?

Are there recycling programs, composting initiatives, or other eco-friendly alternatives to reduce waste in Cambodia? What personal initiatives can be implemented?

How are hazardous waste items such as batteries, household chemicals, or electronic equipment managed?

What actions are taken to encourage compliance with regulations (rewards, penalties, taxes, etc.)?

If you have any other relevant information to share about waste management, please do not hesitate!

Thank you for your contribution.

The Expat.com Team

Waste is burned. Batteries burned old oil burned.. not my idea but we live a hour from a city and even in phnom penh the trash is piled high and not recycled. You should start a recycling plant and get funding from some environmental group.

@Cheryl

Even in my home country of the UK they are still learning waste management, but the reality is it starts with packaging that is brought by people, who are the first ones to have to deal with the waste, now ten years ago riverside had lots of rubbish thrown down to the river by many, at the time I suggested more bins on riverside and not black plastic bags hanging in a frame, which over several years have been carried out and education in schools & on TV this is I believe is still being promoted, but there from my flat which overlooks a cross roads still khmers who think the street is the rubbish bin, in 136 street we have more bins which I did ask for a few years ago and we do have a few, but more would be better, & Insitu bins on the corners of crossroads with removable bins, as focal points to deposit rubbish, two colour bins pink for bottles cans cardboard glass,  and green bins for other rubbish, this would go some way to eliminating rubbish spilling from bins when reclaimers look for bottles & cans, including the city waste departments, a TV schools program showing the use of pink and green bins, and the benefit to the communities involved in the program in a gradual way, this is a very cost affective way to deal with the waste at grass roots level, Another which is far from easy is the use of plastic in Phnom Penh & Cambodia drink carriers it appears every street drink has a plastic bag hanging of a bike, we'll fit the bikes with drink holders, and do away with thousands of plastic bags, another problem supermarkets have rolls of plastic bags, change them for rolls of paper bags, for this to happen here just needs the will of the people business & a word from government, i am only a foreigner so do not wish to preach to Cambodia it has come a long way and achieved great things under Hun Sen, and still continuing under Hun Manet, it is just a request for ideas on waste management. As my ex wife of 30 + years was an environmental officer I did in my years with her learn a lot about waste management, so I trust my limited ideas help,