State of Waste

Management
in Phnom Penh,
Cambodia
2018
State of Waste Management in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Prepared by:
IGES Centre Collaborating with UNEP on Environmental Technologies (CCET) of
Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES)

Authors: Rajeev Kumar Singh, Dickella Gamaralalage Jagath Premakumara, Ran Yagasa and Kazunobu Onogawa

www.iges.or.jp / www.ccet.jp

Design: Miki Inoue

With support of:

Waste Management Projects Group (COMPED WM) of Cambodian Education and Waste Management Organization
(COMPED)

www.compedcam.org

Copyright © United Nations Environmental Programme, 2018

This publication may be reproduced in whole or in part and in any form for educational or non-profit purposes without special
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No use of this publication may be made for resale or for any other commercial purpose whatsoever without prior permission in
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Although every efforts are made to ensure objectivity and balance, the conclusions that are reached in this publication should be
understood to be those of authors and not attributed to UN Environment, IGES, or their staff members, officers, directors, trustees,
funders.
 State of Waste
Management
in Phnom Penh,
Cambodia
June, 2018
 Executive Summary
Phnom Penh is facing huge challenges in waste management due to population growth, increasing income and
consumption levels, expanding urbanisation and inadequate waste management including lack of proper waste
collection and treatment facilities, technical staff as well as unclear responsibilities among staff members. In this
regard, with the request for support from Cambodia’s Waste Management Division of Phnom Penh Capital Hall
(PPCH), IGES Centre Collaborating with UNEP on Environmental Technologies (CCET) has been providing technical
assistance towards the development of a waste management strategy for Phnom Penh 2018-2035. The strategy is
based on a holistic waste management approach. It addresses all waste streams (solid waste, liquid waste/ wastewater,
and gaseous emissions), primarily focusing on solid waste and but also covering other forms within the mandate of
PPCH. In parallel with above, a quick study was done on Phnom Penh’s existing waste management systems and
current practices including the waste flow, policies and regulations framework, waste management practices
challenges, which provides practical recommendations for PPCH and other stakeholders for sustainable waste
management in Phenom Penh.

The rapid population growth due to industrialisation, and urbanisation in line with the expansion of the city area has
led into a rapid increase in waste production in Phnom Penh. Beside an increase in municipal solid waste, other waste
streams such as hazardous waste, industrial waste, medical waste, construction and demolition waste and agriculture
waste are also increasing causing enormous challenges to the city about proper collection, treatment and disposal of
these kinds of wastes. Moreover, there has been decentralisation of power in the waste sector from the provincial
and district level to local levels, and so local authorities are still unaware of their responsibility and struggle in fulfilling
their role.

This report confirms that there are many challenges in current waste management in Phnom Penh due to social,
technical, economical and institutional restrains. Therefore, the recommendations set out in this report are very
important for policymakers and stakeholders in waste management in Phnom Penh for improvement of current
waste management.

ii 　
Contents
Executive Summary……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ii
Contents……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… iii
List of Abbreviations… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… iv

1.　Introduction… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 1
　1.1. Background… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 1
　1.2. Objectives…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 2
　1.3. Analytical Framework…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 2
　1.4. Methodology… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 3

2.　Overview of Phnom Penh City… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… 4

　2.1. Institutional Framework SWM at Subnational Level and of Phnom Penh… …………………………………………… 4
　2.2. Institutional Arrangement, Roles and responsibilities of Actors in SWM of Phnom Penh… …………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 5

3.　National and City Waste Management Policies and Legislation…………………………………………………………… 7

4.　Municipal Solid Waste Management………………………………………………………………………………………………… 9

　4.1. Generation… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 9
　4.2. Waste Composition… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 11
　4.3. Waste Collection and Transport… …………………………………………………………………………………………………… 11
　4.4. Waste Disposal/Final Treatment……………………………………………………………………………………………………… 11

5.　Industrial and Other Waste……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 17

　5.1. Industrial Waste…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 17
　5.2. Medical Waste… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 17
　5.3. Hazardous Waste… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 20
　5.4. Construction and Demolition (C&D) Waste… …………………………………………………………………………………… 21

6.　Financing Solid Waste Management in Phenom Penh………………………………………………………………………… 24

　6.1. Financing Solid Waste Management in Cambodia……………………………………………………………………………… 24
　6.2. Financing Solid Waste Management in Phnom Penh… ……………………………………………………………………… 25
　6.3. Project Financed by RGC and External Stakeholders… ……………………………………………………………………… 25
　6.4. Royal Government of Cambodia… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… 25
　6.5. Japan… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 26
　6.6. European Union…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 26
　6.7. Asia Foundation…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 26

7.　Major Challenges and Areas for Improvement…………………………………………………………………………………… 27

　7.1. Municipal Solid Waste Management………………………………………………………………………………………………… 27
　7.2. Industrial Waste Management……………………………………………………………………………………………………… 28
　7.3. Hazardous Waste Management… …………………………………………………………………………………………………… 28
　7.4. Medical Waste Management… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… 29
　7.5. Construction and Demolition Waste Management… ………………………………………………………………………… 29

8.　Conclusions and Recommendation… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 31

Bibliography………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 36

　 iii
 List of Abbreviations
BC Black Carbon
C&D Construction and Demolition
CAP Cleansing Authority of Phnom Penh
CCET IGES Centre Collaborating with UNEP on Environmental Technologies
CEA Cambodia Environmental Association
DAALI Department of Agronomy and Agricultural Land Improvement
DEF Department of Economy and Finance
DOH Department of Health
DOIH Department of Industry and Handicraft
DPWT Department of Public Works and Transport
EDC Electric du Cambodege
EEE Electrical and Electronic Equipment
E-Waste Electronic and Electrical Waste
GHG Green House Gas
HCW Health-care Waste
M/D Municipality and Districts
MOE Ministry of Environment
MoH Ministry of Health
MOI Ministry of Interior
MPP Municipality of Phnom Penh
MPWT Ministry of Public Works and Transport
MSW Municipal Solid Waste
MSWM Municipal Solid Waste Management
MWMU Medical Waste Management Unit
NGO Non-Governmental Organisation
PA Provincial Administration
PAD Pacific Asia Development
PCDD Polychlorinated Dibenzo-P-Dioxins
PCDF Polychlorinated Dibenzofurans
POPs Persistent Organic Pollutants
PPC Phnom Penh Cleansing
PPCH Phnom Penh Capital Hall
PPWM Phnom Penh Waste Management Authority
RGC Royal Government of Cambodia
UEEE Used Electronic and Electrical Waste
UNEP United Nations for Environment Programme
WEEE Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment
WMAD Waste Management Affair Department

iv List of Abbreviations  　
1. Introduction
treatment. Unsound waste management has
contaminated land, water and air, resulting in serious
1.1.  Background
impacts on public health, ecosystem and global
climate, as well as threating sustainable development
Waste management is one of the biggest challenges in the city of Phnom Penh.
in developing countries. In particular, developing
From a global perspective, international community
countries in Asia have serious environmental and
has recently agreed upon two key international
public health problems due to large amount of
agreements: Paris Agreement, and Sustainable
municipal waste being dumped into open dumping
Development Goals (SDGs), which now provide a
sites, roads, drains, water bodies etc. on a daily basis
framework for local, national, and global policymaking.
without adequate management. Phnom Penh, the
Building a low-carbon, resource-efficient sustainable
capital city of Cambodia is no exception, and national
society is imperative for all cities and countries,
and local government are facing similar challenges in
including Phnom Penh, for attaining sustainable
waste management due to population growth,
prosperity for its residents, and the waste
increasing income and consumption levels, expanding
management sector can play a substantial role.
urbanization and inadequate waste management due
to a lack of proper waste collection and treatment In this regard, there was a request for support from
facilities, technical staff as well as unclear Cambodia’s Waste Management Division of Phnom
responsibilities among staff members. Penh Capital Hall (PPCH) to the International
Environmental Technology Centre (IETC) of the United
Despite great efforts by the municipality to improve
Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). IETC has
the waste collection, collection services are only
been actively working with national and local
provided intermittently and are inadequate to cover
governments and other institutions to build capacity
the entire urban area of the city. Without segregation
for waste management and promote the development
practices, vibrant recycling industry, or a market for
of effective policy frameworks and strategies. Further,
recycled materials, the waste disposal is at a minimum
the IGES Centre Collaborating with UNEP on
level, with disposal of valuable resources that could
Environmental Technologies (CCET) was selected to
otherwise be circulated back into the production
provide technical assistance towards the development
chain. Dangkor Landfill Site is where most local
of waste management strategy for Phnom Penh 2018-
municipalities transport and treat collected waste
2035. The strategy is based on a holistic waste
from households, industries, and hospitals, but the
management approach, which addresses all waste
management is not designed to comply with global
streams (solid waste, liquid waste/ wastewater, and
technical standards. Simple pits or large open space
gaseous emissions), primarily focusing on solid waste
area are commonly used as dumpsites without
and also covering other forms within the mandate of
appropriate practices such as covering soil, fire control
Phnom Penh Capital Authority.
system, methane gas collection, and leachate

　 1
 In parallel with the above, a quick study of Phnom period from January 2016 to January 2018. It provides
Penh’s existing waste management systems and an overview of Phnom Penh’s current waste
practices was conducted to review the scope and management status, discusses major challenges and
effectiveness of Phnom Penh’s current waste obstacles, and suggests a number of policy
management system, and identify key challenges and recommendations for Waste Management Division of
gaps. The subsequent findings were further used to Phnom Penh Capital Hall (PPCH) and other key
provide appropriate data for organisation of a series policymakers to consider for efficient waste
of participatory workshops and consultations with key management in Phnom Penh. The report provide
national and local stakeholders, aimed at drafting guidance on how Phenom Penh can work towards
Phnom Penh’s waste management strategy that promoting sustainable waste management systems.
addresses the city’s waste issues.

1.3.  Analytical Framework

1.2.  Objectives
Efficient and effective waste management is still a
This report aims to present the major findings of a challenge in both developed and developing countries.
rapid assessment and series of multi-stakeholders Waste management is not only associated with
workshops and consultations carried out during the environmental and health issues but with social,

Waste Generation Collection Final Disposal

Informal Recycling

Informal Recycling Informal Recycling

Recycling Business

Figure 1　Municipal solid waste flow in Phnom Penh

(Source: Authors)

2 1. Introduction  　
political, financial and governance issues. The report process. The first inception workshop was conducted
analyses the current waste management and waste on 20 October 2016 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia with
flow from generation until final disposal in Phnom the aim of presenting the proposed project framework
Penh city as shown in Figure 1. The study focus more and receiving feedback from the participants. The
on municipal solid waste management. In line with goal of the workshop was also to highlight baseline
waste flow, gap analysis was carried out across the data on the main waste streams in the municipality of
waste management chain with regards to institutions, Phnom Penh, and collect stakeholder views on the
policies, financing, infrastructure, technology and extent and effectiveness of the existing waste
demarcation of roles and responsibilities among management practices from collection to final
actors, and this analysis was subsequently used to disposal. The workshop also aimed to identify
determine and address the waste issues in Phnom constraints and move the city towards a resource-
Penh. efficient society. A wide range of stakeholders was
invited from central and local governments, academia,
research institutions, development partners, and
NGOs who have been involved in the waste sector.
The organisers prioritised the attendance of
1.4.  Methodology
government officials from Phnom Penh Capital Hall,
Phnom Penh city district (khan) representatives as
The report was compiled based on primary and well as relevant department officials from the Ministry
secondary data collection along with a quick study for of Environment and National Council for Sustainable
rapid assessment of current waste management of Development (NCSD). All 12 districts representatives
Phnom Penh and carry gap analysis in existing waste were present at the workshop, which helped the
management system, which was carried out in discussion in the workshop to be more interactive in
January 2016. In addition to literature review, reviewing the current waste management system,
structured interviews and technical meetings with identifying challenges and further classifying the
relevant stakeholders were conducted, together with necessary steps for efficient waste management in
field visits to relevant waste management facilities. Phnom Penh.

The study reviews current waste management Following the inception workshop, there was a series
practices, waste characterisation, waste flow, future of consultation and technical discussions and
waste projection, institutional and policy frameworks, workshops with the help of Nexus and in cooperation
and financing mechanisms, highlighting the with Phnom Penh Capital Hall (PPCH) and the Ministry
challenges in the current waste management. Further, of Environment (MoE). The findings of the
the report provides recommendations to policymakers consultations are summarized in this report and also
of Phnom Penh to overcome the challenges and considered in drafting the city waste management
manage the waste in more holistic way. strategy and action plans for Phnom Penh (Yagasa,
2018).
The preliminary findings were used as a base for
organising series of workshops and consultations with
relevant stakeholders aimed at raising awareness on
current waste management system in the city, as well
as organising technical discussions among the
stakeholders for the city waste strategy development

　 3
 2. Overview of Phnom Penh City
(28‐1) 

these sub‐decree has yet to be fully enforced by the government. 

(28‐2) 

Industrial Waste Management 
Phnom Penh is the capital and largest city of Cambodia villages from Kanthork Commune, 4th Stage;
(28-3)
with a population of 1,445,902 as of 2014, with the Integration of 20 communes from five Districts
annualWaste
Hazardous population growth of 3.97 (Phnom Penh
Management (Ponnhear Leu, Mok Kampoul, Khien Svay, Kandal
Department of Planning, 2015). The rapid population Steung, Angsnoul) of Kandal Province to Phnom
(29-1) growth due to industrialisation, urbanisation along Penh.
with expansion of city area has led to a rapid increase
Medical Waste Management
in waste production in Phnom Penh. Besides the
(29-2) increase in municipal solid waste, other waste streams 2.1.  Institutional Framework
such as hazardous waste, industrial waste, medical
SWM at Subnational Level
Construction
waste, and Demolition
construction and Waste Management
demolition  
waste and
and of Phnom Penh
agriculture waste are also increasing, causing
 
enormous challenges for the city for proper collection, Sub-national Institutional Reform and
(33‐1)  treatment and disposal of these kinds of wastes. Decentralisation in Waste Sector
Moreover, the city has gradually expanded its
(i.e., reduce, reuse and recycle)   Sub-national governance of Cambodia experienced
geographical boundary over the years through four
major transformations in the past few decades.
stages (Phnom Penh Capital Hall, n.d.). 1st Stage:
  Decentralisation proceeded in two stages: through
Incorporation of Dangkor District; 2nd Stage: Creation
the Law on Commune Administration adopted in 2001
(4‐1)  of Khan Russey Keo; 3rd Stage: Integration of four

  Before  2008  After 

National National

Provinces Cities Capital City  Provinces 

Districts Khans Khans  Districts  Cities 

Communes Sangakats Sangkats  Communes Sangkats Sangkats

 
Figure 2　The reform of administrative structure of Cambodia before and after 2008
   
(Source: Leng, 2013)

4 2. Overview of Phnom Penh City  　

which granted administrative functions at the The above offices are branches of the M/D
commune level (the lowest administrative layer), and administration and their line department to monitor
the institutional reform of 20081 which also promoted performance of waste collection company
decentralisation at the provincial and district level performance, dissemination of relevant legal
(Theng, 2012). As a result, the sub-national documents and promotion of community awareness,
institutional structure drastically changed (see Figure installation of environmental signs and preparation of
2) while administrative power and functions were relevant reports to the province and provincial
transferred to the sub-national governments (Theng, department of environment (Min, 2016).
2012; Leng, 2013).

Against this backdrop, decentralisation also

proceeded in waste sector, while cooperative relations 2.2.  Institutional Arrangement,
between subnational governments and line ministries Roles and responsibilities of
via provincial technical departments were preserved. Actors in SWM of Phnom Penh
As indicated by Min (2016), waste management has
Figure 3 illustrates the administrative structure of
been gaining increased attention in Municipalities and
PPCH, which enjoys a government status equivalent
Districts (M/D) across Cambodia as a priority issue.
to other provinces. The council has legislative and
However, the level of implementation of waste
executive decision-making powers to formulate
management varied among jurisdictions, and many
subnational policies including those relevant to waste
subnational authorities struggled to fulfil their
management, and has a responsibility to ensure that
expected role. In this context, Sub‐decree on Urban
the decisions have been implemented. The Board of
Solid Waste Management No. 113 issued in November
Governors has a mandate of four years to give council
2015 clarifying M/D’s mandate on solid waste
comments, reports and implementation of the council
management at the municipal level with the support
decision-making.
and coordination by provincial administrations.
Of the eight divisions of Phnom Penh Capital Hall
In the waste sector, the provincial Department of
(PPCH), the Waste Management Affair Department
Environment works on behalf of the Ministry of
(WMAD) is responsible for implementing waste
Environment without further delegation of its work to
management services in Phnom Penh. WMAD has
offices at M/D level due to the limited capacity of M/D
two main offices: i) Technical Environment Impact
line offices. At M/D level, there are two types of line
Monitoring Office and ii) Waste Management
offices: those under the direct control of M/D
Authority Office. The Landfill Management Authority
administrations (often understaffed and under
is also established by PPCH to be responsible for
resourced) such as the Office of Finance and
operation of Dangkor landfill.
Administration, Office of Commune/Sangkat Support
and Planning, and Inter-Sectorial Office; and those In addition, waste management in Phnom Penh is also
under the control of provincial departments such as supported by municipal technical departments of line
Office of Environment (Min, 2016). ministries, especially through technical assistance by

1
Sub-national institutional structure was modified under the Law on Administration and Management of the Capital, Province, Municipality, District
and Khan adopted in 2008, which was set in line with the national policy introduced in 2005, which acknowledged the strengthening of the
protection of environment and natural resource at sub-national level to be the country’s long term goal. Before the reform in 2008, the country had
four governance tiers with 20 Provinces and 4 Cities; 171 Districts and 14 Khans; 1510 Communes and 111 Sangkats (Leng, 2013; Royal Government
of Cambodia, 2008).

　 5
 the Department of Environment (DoE), Department of Tourism (DoT), Department of Industry and
of Public Works and Transport (DPWT), Department Handicrafts (DoIH), and Department of Health (DoH).

Council

Technical  Board of Governors 
Procurement  Women and 
Coordination  (1 Governor with 6  Other Comission 
Commission  Children Comission 
Commision  Deputy Governors )

Admin Director  Specialized Departments  

Admin Deputy  Admin Deputy   Admin Deputy 

Director  Director  Director 

Planning and  Inter‐Sectoral  Legal Affairs and  Waste 

Finance  Urbanization  Human Resources 
Admin Department Investment  Human Rights  Management 
Department  Department  Department Department
(5 Offices)  Department  Department  Affairs Department 
(4 Offices) (2 Offices) (2 Offices)   (2 Offices) 
(4 Offices) (2 Officies) (2 Officies)

Figure 3　Administrative structure of PPCH

(Source: MPP, 2011)

   

6 2. National
3. Overviewand
of Phnom
City Waste City  　
PenhManagement Policies and Legislation  　
3. National and City Waste Management
Policies and Legislation
Policy and legislations that regulate national and Phnom Penh’s solid waste management are listed in Table 1. A new
legislation was adopted in 2015 to improve the effectiveness of solid waste management in the Municipality of
Phnom Penh (MPP). The sentences below in blue and brown represents national and city waste management laws
and regulations respectively.

Table 1　Policy and legislation related solid waste management

General laws and regulations

National
•　‌Sub-decree on Borey (new house construction area) Management, No. 39 (2011)

Municipal Solid Waste

National
•　‌Sub -Decree on Urban Solid Waste Management, No. 113 (2015)
•　‌Sub-Decree on Solid Waste Managment, No. 36 (1999)
•　‌Inter-Ministerial Declaration of Ministry of Interior-Ministry of Environment on Waste and Solid Waste Managment in
Province/ Municipalities of Cambodia, No. 80 (2003)

City
•　‌Draft Strategy And Methodology For Improving Waste Management And Cleansing, Collection And Transport Of Solid
Waste In Phnom Penh Capital
•　‌Sechkdey Chun Damnoeng (Notification) On Waste Storage, Cleansing, Waste Discharge And Penalties On Improper
Waste Disposal In Phnom Penh Municipality, No. 13 (2013)
•　‌Instruction Plan On The Application Of Penalties To Promote Environmental Sanitation Raising In Phnom Penh
Municipality, No. 09 (2010)
•　‌Instruction Plan On Waste Separation Promotion In Phnom Penh Municipality, No. 08 (2010)
•　‌Sechkdey Nainoam (Instruction) On Penalties On Waste Disposal In Public Area, No. 16 (2010)

Industrial Solid Waste

National
•　‌Guideline on Solid Waste Management at factories, enterprises and companies, No. 11 (2003)
•　‌Guideline on Sludge Waste Management at Factories – Enterprises (2000)
•　‌Directive on Industrial Hazardous Waste Management, No. 87 (2000)
•　‌Sub-Decree No. 446 on the organization and function of the Department of Hazardous Substance Management (2015)
•　‌Declaration No. 387 on enforcement to standard level the amount of toxic or hazardous substance that allow to
abandoned (2015)

City
•　‌Declaration on Industrial Solid Waste Collection and Transport in Phnom Penh and Kandal, No. 148 (2002)
•　‌Declaration on the permission Sarom Trading to collect and transport industrial wastes from Phnom Penh and Kankal
province, No. 156 (2001)

　 7
 Hazardous Solid Waste, Medical Solid Waste

National
•　‌Sub-Decree No. 446 on the organization and function of the Department of Hazardous Substance Management (2015)
•　‌Declaration No. 387 on enforcement to standard level the amount of toxic or hazardious substance that allow to
abandoned (2015)

Street Dust

City
•　‌Sub-decree on Applying Phnom Penh Land Use Master Plan, No. 181 ( 2015)

E-waste

National
•　‌Sub-Decree of E-waste and Electric Equipment (2016)

Medical Waste

National
•　‌Declaration on Waste Management from Health Care Service in the Kingdom of Cambodia – Ministry of Health (2008)
•　‌Decision on creation of Medical Waste Management Unit, No. 96 of Red Cross Cambodia (2009)
•　‌National Guide on Waste Management from Health Care Service (2012)

(Source: Compiled by Authors based on interview with MOR and PPCH, 2017)

8 3. Municipal
4. National and
Solid
City
Waste
Waste
Management  　Policies and Legislation  　
Management
4. Municipal Solid Waste
Management
Municipal Solid Waste is referred as Urban Solid Waste beneficiaries (B. Seng et al., 2011).
in the Sub-decree 113 and this waste includes waste
In 2002, an exclusive agreement was signed between
generated from residents, services or commercial
the Municipality and CINTRI with the term of 49 years,
activities, which do not contain toxic substances or
which gave the operator major responsibilities to
hazardous waste (Royal Government of Cambodia,
provide garbage collection services (Phnom Penh
2015).
Capital Hall - Urbanization Division, 2011). The
The history of waste management in Phnom Penh company has been successful in covering the cost to
(Figure 4) represents the transition of service providers sustain its operations up to the present time, by
of Phnom Penh’s municipal solid waste management collecting service fees from beneficiaries (residents,
(MSWM) over the last three decades. After the war, businesses etc.) through the electricity bill.
MSWM was the responsibility of the municipal
cleansing section of the Department of Public Works
and Transport (DPWT) of the Municipality of Phnom
Penh (MPP) which remained as a service provider until
4.1.  Generation
1994 (Seng, Kaneko, Hirayama & Hirayama, 2011).
During this period, household waste was most
commonly burned, buried, or dumped in residents’ Phnom Penh generates around 4.09 million t/year of
backyards, and free land areas, due to the absence of municipal solid waste, with the per-capita-per-day
appropriate and effective MSWM regulations, where generation of households in Phnom Penh estimated
only market waste was collected for ultimate disposal to be 0.73 kg based on a population of 15.39 million in
in an open dumpsite. 2015 (Provincial Department of Planning, 2015).

In order to address the increasing stress to the city’s Figure 5 exhibits the distribution of generated MSW
waste management system due to rapid population from each source in Phnom Penh considering six
growth and subsequent growth of waste generated, sources: households, markets, shops, offices,
and to reinforce the limited capacity of the system, restaurants, and hotels/guesthouses. Of all the
MPP outsourced its MSWM service to private sources, household waste shared the largest portion
contractors with franchise agreements, which of generated waste at around 55.3% of the total. The
included collection, transport and disposal of the sources of non-household waste varies from the
municipal waste. The companies were also responsible hotels/guesthouses (16.7%), restaurants (13.8%),
for (or entitled to) collecting a fee from those who markets (7.5%), to shops (5.4%) and offices (1.4%).
received the service. The service providers have The study concluded that the largest portion of
changed repeatedly due to financial difficulties due to household waste resulted from the high population
unclear tipping fee criteria, inefficient waste collection and income compared to other sources (K. Seng,
and fee collection, and willingness-to-pay for the 2015).
service which remained at low level among the

　 9
 DPWT
Direct operation under DPWT of MPP until 1994
~1994

PAD Pacific Asia Development (PAD), French contractor with 50 years

1994-1995 franchise agreement. By July 1995, the agreement was cancelled.

Direct operation by
districts Individual districts took over solid waste collection service on their own
until January 1996
1995-1996

PPC PPC, a Cambodian company, took over solid waste collection service on
1996-1996 a temporaty basis until December 1996

ENV ENV, a company from the former East Germany, had a 50 years
franchise agreement. ENV decided to leave Cambodia after the war
1996-1997 erupted in July 1997.

PSBK Ltd. was initially sub-contrator under ENV. PSBK was asked to
PSBK continue the service for easte collection and dump-site after ENV. By
1997-2002 January 1998, a 50 years franchise agreement was made between MPP
and PSBK as a monopoly service provider

CAP By 2001, the Cleansing Authority of Phnom Penh (CAP) was established
for secondary collection of the peri-urban area, covering about 1% of
2001-2001 the total population of MPP, as well as dump-site management.

PPWM The Phnom Penh Waste Managment Authority (PPWM) was established
in 2001 under the control of DPWT and MPP to oversee SWM in the city
2001-2009 as well as manage landfill

Waste Management Until 2009, PPWM was dissolved while the landfill has been moving to
Division new site in Dangakor district, Phnom Penh. Then the new landfill has
been managed under direct control of Phnom Penh Waste Management
2009-Present Division of Phnom Penh Capital Hall up to the present.

CINTRI CINTRI (Cambodia) Ltd. bought contractural rights from PSBK in 2002. At
the same time, CINTRI and MPP signed a new 50 years contract on
2002-Present waste collection service in Phnom Penh.

Figure 4　Transition of MSWM service providers in PPCH

(Source: Adopted from JICA and MPP, 2005; Seng et al., 2011; Uch et al., 2014)

10 4. Municipal Solid Waste Management  　

 MSW Generation

5%
8%
4.3.  Waste Collection and
1%
Transport
14%

55%
The private sector plays a critical role in collection and
17% transport of solid waste. Waste collection rate of the
city was about 83.3% with 839,500 tons of waste going
Households Hotels/Gueshouses Restaurants to Dangkor Landfill in 2015.Currently, under the
Offices Shops Markets
commission of PPCH, CINTRI is tasked to clean, collect
Figure Figure
5　MSW generated
5 MSW generated by Penh
by source in Phnom source in Phnom Penh
(Source: K. Seng, 2015) and transport the city’s municipal waste (The Asia
(Source: K. Seng, 2015)
Foundation, 2016). In 2011, the company’s team
comprised over 1,190 workers for sweeping, collection
and transport operations (JICA and MPP, 2005; Phnom
Penh Capital Hall - Urbanization Division, 2011).

4.2.  Waste Composition Figure 7 shows that the company has two major
operational divisions: Cleaning Operation and
Collection and Transport Operation. Cleaning
Figure 6 shows the MSW composition for PPCH in
Operation applies manual labour using waste carts,
which organic waste accounted for the largest
bins and brooms during daytime and times of less
proportion of about 51.9% of total waste while the
traffic (at night-time, it is risky due to limited security
second and third largest were from plastic and paper
and safety). There are different ways and means of
about 20.9% and 9.9% respectively. The remaining
waste collection and transport, such as using waste
waste was grass and wood at about 2.3%, followed by
carts, dumpster bins and waste trucks divided into
glass―1.6%, metal―1.1%, rubber and leather―0.2%,
daytime and night-time for households, public
textiles―2.1%, ceramic and stone―0.5%, other
gardens and markets.
burnable―5.4%, and other un-burnable―4.1% (K.
Seng, 2015). Solid waste management perception and practice are
still problematic in Phnom Penh. Feasible waste
MSW Compostition collection system still needs to be improved. To
9.5%
2.1%0.5% change people’s behaviour is very hard in order to
0.2%
1.1%
improve public hygiene and sanitation of the city.
1.6%
2.3% Although there are, regulations in place on proper
51.9%
9.9% management of waste, people still throw waste
haphazardly around collection points or around roads
as shown in Figure 8.
20.9%

Food/Organic Waste Plastics Paper

Wood Glass Metal
Rubber and Leather Textiles Ceramic and Stones
Others
4.4.  Waste Disposal/Final
Figure 6　Waste composition in Phenom Penh
Figure 6 Waste composition in Phenom Penh
Treatment
(Source: K. Seng, 2015)
(Source: K. Seng, 2015)

Phnom Penh relies almost entirely on Dangkor landfill

　 11
  (12‐1) 

Waste Management

Collection and 
Cleaning  Operation 
Transport Operation

Everyday  Big Event  Household Market  Public Park

Dayshift  Nightshift 
Day shift  Dayshift Dayshift Nightshift Dayshift
Truck  Truck 
Pushcart  Pushcart Truck  Truck  Truck 
Pushcart  Pushcart 
Grabage Bin Garbage Bin Dumpster  Dumpster Pushcart
Dumpster   Dampster

Figure 7　Organization structure of CINTRI

(Source: B. Seng, 2014)

(13‐1) 

Manager   
Figure 8 Improper wasteFigure 8　Improper
discharge, waste
storage anddischarge, storage and open burning
open burning
(Source: COMPED)
 
(Source:
Note:COMPED)
Deputy Manager
Spray sign mentions waste collection
(1 Person) time is at 7:00pm; and punishment of 25$ for improper waste

 
Note: Spray sign mentions waste collection time is at 7:00pm; and punishment Adm‐Account 
of 25$ for improper waste
Assistants 
site for the final treatment / disposal of MSW amount at the Finance
landfill was about 808,530 tonnes per
(3 Persons)
(1 Person)   
generated within the jurisdiction. Dangkor landfill year.
site, developed with the assistanceExcavator‐
4.4. Waste Disposal/Final by JICA, started
Security  Treatment
 
Sale's Staffs 
Garbage Trucks
Repairers  Dangkor landfill has been operated by Dangkor
operation in July 2009 following the
(3 Persons)  closure of its
(12 Persons)
(7 Persons)
(6 Persons)
Landfill Management Authority (DLMA) under the
Phnom Penh relies
predecessor almost
Stoeng Mean entirely on Dangkor
Chey landfill site which landfill site for the final treatment
  / disposal of MSW
Waste Management Affair Department (WMAD) of
generated
reachedwithin the jurisdiction. Dangkor landfill site,PPCH.
full capacity. developed with the assistance by JICA, started
  The organisational structure at Dangkor
operation
There isina substantial
July 2009gapfollowing the
between the closure
annual of its predecessor
amount Stoeng Mean
Landfill Management Chey
Authority landfill
is shown site10.
in Figure which
 
of waste Total human resources consist of 34 staff in 2014.
reached fullbefore 2002 when Stoeng Mean Chey landfill
capacity.
site was in use, and the amount after 2003 using the
  Since the site started operations in 2009, the waste
There is landfill
new a substantial gap between
site. However, as Figurethe annualtheamount of waste before 2002 when Stoeng Mean Chey
9 shows,
layers in the landfill area A (see Figure 11) were covered
amount of municipal solid waste disposal has
  site was
landfill in use, and the amount after 2003 using
with the new
soil for landfill
every 4m ofsite. However,
waste, as opposedastoFigure
the 9
increased over the years. In 2017, the waste disposal
shows, the amount of municipal solid waste disposal has increasedpractice
recommended over theput years.
forwardIn
by2017,
JICA (i)the
dailywaste

disposal amount at the landfill was about 808,530 tonnes per year.

12 4. Municipal Solid Waste Management  　

MO NT H LY DI S PO S AL AMO I UNT (T )
,530
5
 Everyday  Big Event  Household Market 

Dayshift  Nightshift 
Day shift  Dayshift Dayshift Nightshift
Truck  Truck 
Pushcart  Pushcart Truck  Truck 
Pushcart  Pushcart 
Grabage Bin Garbage Bin Dumpster  Dumpster
Disposal Amount (thousands tonnes) Dumpster   Dampster
900
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
(13‐1) 
0

2017
2015
2016
2013
2014
2012
2010
2011
2009
2006
2007
2008
2005
2002
2003
2004
2001
2000

 
Year

Figure 9　Municipal solid waste disposal at landfill in Phnom Penh

 
(Source: Ministry of Environment Cambodia, 2018)

Figure 9 Municipal solid waste disposal at landfill in Phnom Penh  

(Source: Ministry of Environment Cambodia, 2018)
Manager   

 
Deputy Manager
(1 Person) 

 
Adm‐Account 
Assistants 
Finance
(3 Persons)
(1 Person)   

Sale's Staffs  Security 
Excavator‐
Repairers 
 
Garbage Trucks
(3 Persons)  (12 Persons) (6 Persons)
(7 Persons)

 
Figure 10　Organizational structure at the Dangkor Landfill Management Authority
(Source: Uch et al., 2014)
 
covering soil of 15cm; (ii) intermediate cover soil of design by JICA as show in Figure 11. The recommended
  30cm; and (iii) final covering soil of 50cm (JICA, 2005). management practice was followed until 2010, when
it was discontinued due to serious damage to the site
  Figure 12 shows the actual infrastructure of Dangkor
caused by serious flooding, which also affected most
landfill status slightly different from the original
regions in Cambodia, and resulted in the collapse of

 
　 13
 the landfill pile in both Area A and B (Uch et al., 2014). MSW accepted at the site) and the absence of on-site
Without the practice of landfill soil covering the waste, compaction of the waste layers.
hygiene at the site management deteriorated
resulting in offensive odours and breeding of disease
　
vectors and noxious insects, which especially Emissions from the landfill
intensified during rainy seasons.

Figure 13 shows the initial phase of the landfill site The rough estimation of greenhouse gas (GHG) and
(left) in 2009, and an overview of the site in 2014 with Black carbon (BC) emissions at Dangakor Landfill was
a waste pile of approximately 8-10m above the rice calculated based on EQT Tool developed by IGES/
field in elevation (right) (Uch et al., 2014). The life span CCAC as shown in Table 2. The finding estimates that
of the site tends to be short due to the mixed MSW the emission of GHG and BC from the landfill was
brought in without any recycling practice (for instance, about 59,715 tonnes per year and 101 tonnes per year
organic content which constitutes the majority of the respectively in 2015.

Figure 11　Dangkor sanitation landfill map designed by JICA

(Source: JICA and MPP, 2005)

14 4. Municipal Solid Waste Management  　

Figure 11 Dangkor sanitation landfill map designed by JICA
 Figure 13 shows the initial phase of the landfill site (left) in 2009, and an overview of the site in 2014
with a waste pile of approximately 8-10m above the rice field in elevation (right) (Uch et al., 2014).
Figure 12　Overview of the actual landfill map in 2014
The life span of the site tends to be short Dangkor
(Source: due to the mixed
Landfill MSW brought in without any recycling
Authority)

practice (for instance, organic content which constitutes the majority of the MSW accepted at the site)

Figure 12 Overview of theofactual

and the absence on-site landfill map
compaction of in
the2014
waste layers.

(Source: Dangkor Landfill Authority)

2009 2014

Figure 13　Overview of Landfill site in 2009 and in early 2014

Figure 13 Overview of Landfill site in 2009(Source:
and inCOMPED)
early 2014

(Source: COMPED)

Emissions from the landfill

The rough estimation of greenhouse gas (GHG) and Black carbon (BC) emissions at Dangakor
Landfill was calculated based on EQT Tool developed by IGES/CCAC as shown in Table 2. The 　 15
 Table 2　Summary of the GHG/SLCP emissions from Dangkor Landfill Operation in 2015

Description Technology Unit CH4 BC CO2 N2O

Waste Collection and Transportation Kg/month 0 1 8,085 0

transportation by city
(unit ‘kg’ used here to
Treatment for Composting show the magnitude
separate waste of small amount of
Anaerobic digestion
emissions)
Recycling 0 0 0 0

Treatment for mixed MBT

waste
Incineration

Landfilling 903,365 8,379 4,072,921 0

Uncollected waste Open burning/ 27,396 0 0

scattered

Net emissions per monthly generated waste Tonnes/month 931 8 4,081 0

Net BC emissions per monthly generated Tonnes of BC/month 8.38

waste

Net climate impact from other GHGs per Tonnes of CO2 eq/ 30,142.34
monthly generated waste month

(Source: COMPED)

16 4. Industrial
5. Municipaland
SolidOther
WasteWaste  　
Management  　
5. Industrial and Other Waste
This section provides an overview of Phnom Penh’s However, in reality addition to industrial waste,
current waste management system for industrial solid hazardous waste and medical waste is also disposed
waste and other waste which includes: i) Hazardous at Sarom Industrial Landfill as below (Ministry of
Solid Waste; ii) Medical Solid Waste; and iii) Environment, Cambodia, 2002):
Construction and Demolition Solid Waste. • Semi-dry muddy waste removed from effluent
treatment pools
• Coloured fibres and pieces of fabrics
• Plastic waste containing Polyvinyl Chloride

5.1.  Industrial Waste • Rubber waste and vulcanised rubber containing

Polymer-Butilin
• Batteries and battery waste
Industrial solid waste refers to the solid waste • Left over ashes after the burning of medical waste
remaining or generated from production activities of • Electronic waste
factories or enterprises, which do not contain toxic • Paint waste lacquer and packaged materials
substances or hazardous waste (Royal Government of • Insecticide waste used in agriculture and in
Cambodia, 2015). packaged materials (must be placed in a rubber tub
before being dumped)
In Phnom Penh, the industrial solid waste collection
• Waste resulted from production and utilisation of
(including sludge from wastewater treatment plants)
printing ink
from factories such as garment factories, leather
• Expired or sub-standard goods
factories, plastic factories and paper factories by
• Waste resulted from production of medicine and
Sarom Trading Company to the industrial landfill
expired medicines
located in Por Sen Chey district, Phnom Penh (formerly
• Waste containing asbestos substance
name in Phum Chambok, Khan Kombol, Srok
Angsnuol, Kandal Province). However, specific data
on industrial waste generation, or collection and
disposal at Sarom’s industrial landfill is not available.
5.2.  Medical Waste
The company received a permit to collect and
transport industrial waste; and to construct an
industrial landfill which is located in Phum Chambok, According to the Declaration on Waste Management
Khan Kombol, Srok Angsnuol, Kandal Province. As from Health Care Service in the Kingdom of Cambodia,
stated by MOE, the company must comply with the medical waste is defined as the waste from the health
law on environmental protection and natural resource care sector such as public and private hospitals, health
management, as well as with the sub-decree on the centres, clinics, and medical laboratories (Ministry of
environmental impact assessment process. Health, 2008). Medical waste handling is classified
into two types: i) General waste including office

　 17
 residues, kitchen waste, etc. and ii) Health-care waste The total amount of medical waste generated is about
including infectious waste (flesh, bandage, blood, 40t/month in Phnom Penh, consisting infectious
etc.), sharp waste, pharmaceutical waste, chemical waste, pathological waste, sharps (i.e. knifes and
waste, radioactive waste, etc. (MOE, 2014). syringes) and pharmaceutical waste (Choeu, 2016).
The quantity of medical waste is increasing with the
Medical waste has traditionally been treated (or
expansion of medical services (Figure 14).
improperly treated) in a decentralised manner: waste
was incinerated in major hospitals, although the As shown in Table 3, national hospitals in Phnom Penh
practice was often discontinued due to problems from produced the four most common categories of HCW
limited maintenance and high fuel price, while the including infectious waste, pathological waste, sharps
majority of waste generated in many private clinics and pharmaceuticals waste (Department of Hospital
was mixed with MSW and disposed. Currently, medical Services, 2006). Infectious waste shares the highest
waste management of Phnom Penh city is managed amount of about 33kg/day.
by Red Cross Cambodia, which provides collection,
The Medical Waste Management Unit (MWMU) was
transportation, intermediate treatment and final
created under Red Cross Cambodia branch (Phnom
disposal.
Penh) in 2009 to provide services from collection to
As of 2011, there are eight national hospitals in Phnom transport and treatment of medical wastes generated
Penh City, 24 provincial referral hospitals, 64 district in Phnom Penh. Medical waste is separated and stored
referral hospitals, 1,097 health centres, as well as 87 at respective health care centres, collected by the
health posts located throughout the country according MWMU, transported by trucks (Figure 15 (a)) to the
to Department of Hospital Service (Project incineration plant located in Khan Dangkor,
Coordination Unit, 2014), all generating medical approximately 12 km from Phnom Penh City Centre.
waste. The facility covers about one hectare of land area, and

Annual Medical Waste

600
Annual Amount (tonnes)

500
400
300
200
100
0
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Year
Figure 14 Amount of collected annual medical waste
(Source: Choeu, 2016)

Figure 13 Quantity of collected annual medical waste

18 (Source: Choeu, 2016)
5. Industrial and Other Waste  　
 Resource of MWMU (Continue)
Table 3　Average amount of health care waste generated from National Hospitals in Phnom Penh

Health Infectious Waste Pathological Waste Sharps Pharmaceutical Waste

Care
Facilities Kg/day L/day Kg/day L/day Box/day Kg/day L/day

National 33.22 1.85 14.83 1.46 12.43 20 0.1

Hospitals

(Source: Department of Hospital Services, 2006)

in located next to the municipal landfill (Choeu, 2016). found that medical waste is mixed with kitchen waste
All of the trucks are equipped with GPS in order to or ordinary waste.
ensure efficient operations (Figure 15 (b)). There are
Treatment of medical waste includes incineration,
three types of collection containers including, safety
chemical treatment and wastewater treatment. At
plastic bag (Non-PVC), safety sharpness box (recycle
paper) and safety bin being used for medical waste. Resource of MWMU (Continue)
MWMU, medical wastes are incinerated at the
temperature of up to 1200 degree Celsius using
However, the waste separation practice is still limited
different incinerators as shown in the Figure 16.
for some health care centres and many times, it is

(a) (b)

Figure 15　Collection trucks for medical waste (a) and sample of GPS track record for collection of medical waste (b)
(Source: Choeu, 2016)
6/18/2018 Medical Waste Management Unit

6/18/2018 Med
　 19
 Resource of MWMU (Continue)
Resource of MWMU (Continue)
2.3. Incinerator Assets
2.3. Incinerator Assets

Ìncinerator FSI-150
Ìncinerator FSI-150Model FSI-150 (left); Incinerator Model LDF-500 (LDF-100) (right)
Figure 16　Incinerator
Incinerator LDF-500 (LDF-100)
(Source: Choeu, 2016)

Incinerator LDF-500 (LDF-100)

generated e-waste in Phnom Penh from 2009 to 2019.
Many types of second-hand EEE such as monitors,
5.3.  Hazardous Waste
printers, keyboards, CPUs, typewriters, projectors,

6/18/2018 mobile
Medical Waste Management Unit phones, PVC wires, etc. are imported
9 to
Hazardous waste includes any substances which are Cambodia from various countries. These goods come
6/18/2018 Medical Waste
in all Management
models and sizes, Unit
which contain both functional
radioactive, inflammable, infected, oxidation, toxic or
other chemical materials (Royal Government of items and junk materials also known as e-waste /
Cambodia, 2015). The new sub-decree No. 113 Annex WEEE. In terms of weight, TVs are expected to show
classifies and regulates the following hazardous solid the biggest increase followed by PCs, refrigerators, air
waste generated from households, public institutions, conditioners, washing machines and mobile phones
commercial facilities, industrial and tourism sectors. (Ministry of Environment Cambodia, 2009).
• Battery waste
Waste pickers and dismantlers play a pivotal role in
• WEEE/e-waste
the collection of e-waste through the market. Waste
• Bottle glass waste or cans spoiled with chemical or
items are generally purchased from generators for
agricultural pesticides
reusable components or material recycling. Valuable
• Old vehicle tires
components are sold to scrapyard owners for export,
• Used oil
and non-valuable components are removed and
• Waste from paint, dye and respective containers
disposed of as domestic waste. According to 2015
• Waste from printing ink
report of Ministry of Environment Cambodia, the
• Asbestos waste
amount of e-waste exported from Cambodia to
In addition, MOE also regulates the management of
Singapore, one of the major destination countries,
hazardous waste from other sources such as factories,
came to approximately 3,514 T in 2013 and 1,588 T in
handicrafts, agriculture and mining.
2014.
Further, a rapid increase in e-waste has been observed
When there is no waste-collection service, e-waste is
in Phnom Penh and this amount is expected to grow
brought in, disposed of and incinerated improperly at
rapidly as shown in Table 4, which projects the
sites close to or behind the repairing/dismantling

20 5. Industrial and Other Waste  　

 Table 4　Projected E-waste fraction (metric tons)

E-waste 2009 2019

Items/E-
waste Reusable Recyclable Residues Reusable Recyclable Residues
Fractions

TV 980.54 792.05 131.37 5,517.54 4,456.88 739.24

PC 1,706.69 964.62 59.39 2,247.85 1,270.48 78.23

MP 26.17 14.22 2.69 90.38 49.09 9.30

Refrigerator 548.70 387.79 62.97 1,716.15 1,212.87 196.94

Air 490.83 377.56 19.99 1,908.53 1,468.10 77.72

Conditioner

Washing 525.39 175.13 175.13 842.30 280.77 280.77

Machine

(Source: Ministry of Environment, 2009)

shops (MOE Cambodia’s Technical Working Group, (CMDGs) as well as the current Royal Government
2013). Policy on poverty alleviation (Project Coordination
Unit, 2014) in which management of POPs was
Approximately 3% of residues generated from
strategically positioned.
dismantling, separating and/or sorting process is
disposed of, while the remaining 97% is sold to local
recycling shops or transported to other recyclers on
demand. However, a CEA survey in 2007 found that
5.4.  Construction and Demolition
80% of e-waste is sold for recycling (MOE Cambodia’s
(C&D) Waste
Technical Working Group, 2013).

Lack of understanding among operators and Construction and Demolition (C&D) waste most
junkshops owners on the negative environmental and commonly includes paper/cardboard, garden/
health impacts of improper treatment / disposal is vegetation, wood/timber, carpets, other textiles,
resulting in the release of hazardous substances from rubber, glass, plastics, metals, hazardous waste,
e-waste. ceramics, soil/rubble, cobbles/boulders, clean soil,
concrete, plasterboards, bricks, asphalt/bitumen,
In 2004, Cambodia conducted a survey on 23 Persistent
cement sheet, insulation and others (UNEP, 2009).
Organic Pollutants (POPs), which included 12 POPs
conventionally registered. Moreover, there were 11 Management of C&D waste in Phnom Penh is currently
POPs additionally registered in 2013 utilising the at the development stage whereby some generated
UNEP guidance and quantification Toolkit for waste is collected, treated and disposed of by the
unintentional POPs (version 1 issued in 2003) in order private sector on a contract-basis, some is sold to
to fulfil the reporting duty under the Stockholm buyers for reuse (soil, rubble and rock), while other
Convention, aiming for eventual phase-out of POPs waste is dumped on open land or in remote public
and minimal human and environmental consequences. areas (based on field observation). There are pressing
This survey was also conducted to achieve Goal No. 7 concerns about the shortage / lifespan of landfill sites
of the Cambodia Millennium Development Goals and Phnom Penh limiting waste acceptance at final

　 21
 landfill sites, partially resulting in illegal disposal as construction and demolition sites. The study
shown in Figure 17. Lack of basic data is posing another conducted a rapid construction waste composition
challenge, making it difficult to delineate the state of assessment with sampling at several C&D sites in
the city’s C&D waste management system. Phnom Penh, and roughly estimated the waste
composition: about 60% broken brick, rock, left-over
There is no official national data or investigation on
cement and soil; 20% wood; 10% metal; 5% plastic;
the exact amount of C&D waste generated. Waste
5% paper and other waste. Waste sampling at landfill
generation can generally be estimated based on the
sites was not feasible as no public sites received C&D
types of property (single family residential; multi-
waste in Phnom Penh according to the landfill
family residential; and commercial & non-residential)
authority of the city, making it difficult to obtain
with square footage based on the available data.
reliable figures on waste generation and waste
However, such data is not disclosed in Phnom Penh.
composition.
UNEP (2009) suggests that waste sampling for
Landfill site allow the disposal of non-residential bulk
estimating C&D waste quantity and composition can
waste as shown in Figure 18. It is to be collected and
take place either at landfill sites (sampling from
transported by private contractors to the landfill
vehicles entering the waste disposal site) or at
occasionally.

Figure 17　Generation of C&D waste

Figure 16 Generation of C&D waste (Source: COMPED)
Figure 16 Generation of C&D waste
(Source: COMPED)
22 (Source:
5. IndustrialCOMPED)
and Other Waste  　
Landfill site allow the disposal of non-residential bulk waste as shown in Figure 17. It is to be
(Source: COMPED)

Landfill site allow the disposal of non-residential bulk waste as shown in Figure 17. It is to be
collected and transported by private contractors to the landfill occasionally.
Figure 17 Bulk waste for disposal

(Source: COMPED) • Properly store C&D waste to avoid impacts on the

public order and environment
Collection and disposal of C&D waste is a major challenge for generators and authorities alike. Sub-
• Clean, collect and transport C&D waste by their
decree 113 (Urban Solid Waste Management) stipulates the responsibility of generators of C&D
own means to urban municipal landfill or use the
waste and contractors for proper waste management as below:
service of the local urban waste collection company.
The sub-decree also allows C&D waste to be brought
 Properly store C&D waste to avoid impacts on the public order and environment
in to public landfill sites for final disposal. However, in
 Clean, collect and transport C&D waste by their own means to urban municipal landfill or use the
practice, C&D waste is not accepted by landfill sites in
Figure 18　Bulk waste for disposal
service of the local urban waste collection company.
Phnom Penh as the city attempts to preserve / extend
(Source: COMPED)
37 
the lifespan of the site, unless brought in by
  The sub-decree also allows C&D waste to be brought in to public landfill sites for final disposal.
contractors. As a result, while some C&D waste is
However, in practice, C&D waste is not accepted by landfill sites in Phnom Penh as the city attempts
Collection and disposal of C&D waste is a major reused / recycled (only pure bricks, soil, rock and
to preserve
challenge / extend the
for generators andlifespan of the
authorities site,
alike. unless brought
Sub- stone) in by contractors.
upon demand, mixed As aC&Dresult, while
waste withsome
no
C&D waste
decree is reused
113 (Urban / recycled
Solid Waste (only pure bricks, soil,
Management) rock
market andis stone)
value in mostupon
cases demand, mixed along
illegally dumped C&D
stipulates theno
waste with responsibility
market value of is
generators of C&D
in most cases the Mekong
illegally dumped river
along theorMekong
openly burnt if itopenly
river or consists of
burnt
waste and contractors
if it consists for proper components
of combustible (Figure 18). combustible components (Figure 19).
waste management
as below:

Figure 19　Illegal dumping and open burning of C&D waste

Figure 18 Illegal dumping and open burning(Source:
of C&DCOMPED)
waste

(Source: COMPED)

38 

　 23
 6. Financing Solid Waste
Management in Phenom Penh
for waste services. Funding for waste management is
6.1.  Financing Solid Waste thus derived from user fees, which is set based on the
Management in Cambodia specification and tenant category of the building,
including type of residence number of floors, etc. as

Cambodia’s SWM system has been facing significant well as whether the waste sources are from business

challenges over the last several decades. In this establishments, supermarkets, clinics, schools,

context, the country’s Fundamental Law on Solid universities, etc.; notably, however, user fees are not

Waste Management (Sub-decree No. 36 on Solid calculated based on waste volumes.

Waste Management (1999)) regulates all activities

Accordingly, Min (2016) estimates that actual service
related to storage, collection, transport, recycling,
fees may range between USD 0.8 to USD 30 per
and disposal of household and hazardous waste
month, observing that there is no standardised,
(Sang-Arun, Heng, & Al., 2011). In addition, another
customary formula for calculating tariffs uniformly
influential complementary regulation is Cambodia’s
applied in all circumstances; indeed, some cases have
Inter-ministerial Declaration (Prakas) No. 80 (2003)
been reported where beneficiaries have been charged
which was written with a view towards improving the
in excess of tariffs set by regulatory authorities2. In all
responsibility of concerned authorities and involving
other M/Ds waste tariffs are determined strictly on
relevant institutions for promoting the efficient
basis of the type of business or residence concerned.
implementation of solid waste management in the
country’s provinces and cities. Private companies contracted to deliver waste
management services are expected to provide
Due to lack of detailed regulations, standards and
residential waste collection, without relying on
guidelines, limited capacity of personnel and
subsidies or financial support from either local or
budgetary constraints of the public sector, private
national government. However, many contractors
sector actors in Cambodia are serving a central role in
continue to encounter issues with cost recovery from
addressing gaps in waste management. For instance,
waste collection, as some residents are not willing to
local authorities frequently outsource waste collection
pay for such services. This has resulted in
and transportation services to private companies.
environmental challenges including some of the

Moreover, most waste collection companies have waste being either burned or dumped in public spaces,

negotiated with central and subnational governments residential areas, or on private land.

on provision of services based on profit margin

In some M/Ds, private collection companies have no
calculations associated with waste fee collections
recourse but to develop private landfill sites: this has
(Min, 2016). Such calculations typically involve an
been observed in cities such as Battambang, Siem
identification of waste sources and on this basis
Reap, and Champong Cham. Although authorised by
estimating beneficiaries’ level of willingness-to-pay
provincial or national authorities, such

2
In many urbanised municipalities, waste collection fees for 4‐5 star hotels could be up to 20 times higher than the set tariff fee.

24 6. Financing Solid Waste Management in Phenom Penh  　

privately-owned facilities tend to operate without eliminating CINTRI’s fee contained in users’ electricity
following environmental protocols, demonstrated for bills aimed at avoiding public complaints directed at
example through the use of open pits, the lack of EDC. In this regard, as fees from waste collection
requisite liners, leachate collection and/or treatment represent the main source of funding for the
systems, as well as frequent open burning of waste. company’s waste management services, the removal
of service fee is expected to pose a negative impact on
the financial sustainability of CINTRI’s operations

6.2.  Financing Solid Waste from diminishing income, and consequently result in a
further deterioration of the quality of Phnom Penh’s
Management in Phnom
waste collection service.
Penh
Moreover, the financial viability of the Dangkor landfill
A significant share of Phnom Penh’s waste
site, operated and managed by PPCH, another issue
management services are financed by the private
of concern. Currently, the site charges a disposal fee
company CINTRI, which provides collection and
of USD 1.00 for every ton of waste brought onto its
transportation of MSW based on user fees ranging
premises. However, an analysis of Dangkor landfill site
from USD 1.00 to USD 100. Service fee collection can
conducted by JICA (2005) suggested that for managing
be considered nominally successful as such tariffs are
the sanitary landfill to a satisfactory level would
included in private electricity bills, following
require increasing the disposal fee to USD 4.4/t with
cooperative agreement reached between CINTRI and
additional grant assistance, or USD 5.92/t without the
the Electric Department of Phnom Penh City (Electric
grant assistance (JICA and MPP, 2005).
du Camnodge (EDC) (Sang-Arun et al., 2011).

However, CINTRI’s service model continues to face

issues in terms of achieving overall financial
sustainability; although service fees adequately
6.3.  Project Financed by RGC and
finance waste collection and transport services, at
External Stakeholders
present there are not sufficient funds to cover
additional costs of operations such as street cleaning The Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) has
and final disposal. Consequently, CINTRI’s street allocated national budget towards projects intended
cleaning service is not meeting expected performance to build capacity in the country’s waste sector;
levels, with coverage unable to further expand to similarly, several donor countries and NGOs have
other areas of the city without a corresponding provided technical assistance to RGC, Phnom Penh
increase in revenue. City and other local stakeholders aimed at enhancing
Phnom Penh’s waste management system. The
The company’s household waste collection operations
section briefly describes the projects conducted both
are also experiencing difficulties, faced with the need
at the national level as well as in Phnom Penh.
to improve overall performance by, for instance,
increasing salaries of its staff, while at the same time
addressing criticisms from its users regarding
unsatisfactory services received— despite their 6.4.  Royal Government of
limited awareness about appropriate waste practices Cambodia
and involvement in formal decision-making processes.
Accordingly, local authorities have been considering In 2015, Cambodia’s Ministry of Environment issued

　 25
 its Circular Decree on the Implementation of
Environmental and Hygiene Service Programme,
6.6.  European Union
aimed at improving solid waste and wastewater
management for a total of 26 cities across the country.
Listed under the national budget as per the Ministry of The EU-founded project under the framework of
Economic and Finance, the overall funding of this ASIA-PRO-ECO-Program was also designed to build
programme is 5,000 million Riels (USD1.25) for 2015, the capacity of waste management actors in
planned to increase to 9,000 million Riels (USD 2.25) Cambodia including MOE, MoH, PPWM, CINTRI, as
in 2016. well as to develop technical guidelines on solid waste
management in close cooperation with concerned
ministries. The completed guidelines include
procedures for the development of waste

6.5.  Japan management master plans, the management of bio-

waste, the design and operation of landfills, the
management of medical waste as well as address
Starting in 1997, the Government of Japan has issues concerning public education on appropriate
provided several grants to the RGC aimed at enhancing waste practices (MOE Cambodia & COMPED, 2006).
solid waste management in Cambodia. Such funding In this regard, the guidelines support the principle of
has been utilised for conducting the following the 3Rs for promoting conservation and protection of
activities, among others: natural resources and environmentally sustainable
development, while encouraging the development of
• JICA study on Solid Waste Management in the
waste management plans to this end.
Municipality of Phnom Penh (2003-2005)

• JICA project on solid waste management

improvement for the municipality of Phnom Penh
including capacity building and infrastructure
6.7.  Asia Foundation
development (October 2006 – March 2008)

The primary objective of these projects was to

In 2014, with support from the Asia Foundation, a pilot
strengthen Phnom Penh’s waste management system
project was conducted in the district of Khan Daun
in terms of collection and final disposal (B. Seng et al.,
Penh in collaboration with CINTRI and PPCH. The
2011). In addition, a percentage of the allocated
project aimed to optimise waste collection operations
capital USD 13.9 million was also directed towards
through strategic use of GPS and GIS systems with a
improving the city’s waste management infrastructure
view to monitor the movement of CINTRI trucks and
(Phnom Penh Capital Hall - Urbanization Division,
the collection of kerbside solid waste.
2011). However, this initiative was terminated in 2008
due to the fact that certain conditions of support
stipulated by JICA, including modification of PPCH
and CINTRI service contract3 were not fulfilled (JICA,
2008 in (B. Seng et al., 2011)).

3
The proposed modification included 1) expansion of CINTRI’s service area from 3,000 households currently covered to 18 communes in the suburban
Phnom Penh, and 2) revision of the tipping fee to secure the appropriate operation cost.

26 6. Major
7. Financing
Challenges
Solid Waste
andManagement in Phenom　
Areas for Improvement  Penh  　
7. Major Challenges and Areas for
Improvement
The findings from baseline assessment, discussions in authorities are experiencing difficulties in locating
workshops and technical meetings with relevant suitable areas for final disposal sites of MSW due to
stakeholders states that there are significant gaps in the technical and managerial capacity of
challenges in waste management sector in Phenom competent authorities, including in areas such as
Penh. Some of the key challenges in waste construction, waste treatment, and operation and
management sector are stated below: management of landfills. A recent report by the
Ministry of Environment (MOE) indicates that waste
collection has fallen short of expectations and
attributes this to a lack of capacity and insufficient
7.1.  Municipal Solid Waste funding of authorities in the waste management of
Management the city (Pang 2016). According to CDRI working paper
2016, a senior MOE official states that the three
The rapid increase in waste generation in Phnom Penh challenges needing serious attention are: 1) renovation
is an acute problem due to increasing population and of the governance structure for waste management;
urbanisation as well as expansion of the administrative 2) strategy to reduce, reuse and recycle waste; and 3)
boundaries of the city, and also leads to public health strengthening waste collection and transport.
issues. Cleanliness, sanitation and MSWM issues in
Further, there is limited available data on solid waste
Phnom Penh are experienced widely across MPP both
management in Phnom Penh such as data related to
in urban and satellite areas. Most residents have a
illegal dumping, total recycled waste volumes,
limited general awareness and understanding about
number of recyclers and recycling operations.
correct waste and sanitation methods, and improper
Therefore, difficulties arise when trying to accurately
waste disposal practices (e.g. piles of waste
assess waste management systems and practices in
accumulating on the ground or in the streets) are
the city. Furthermore, there remain notable
widely observed. Poor waste separation at source
inconsistencies in the data on Phnom Penh
represents the main obstacle to promoting effective
Municipality issued by different sources.
waste reduction and recycling activities and as such is
driving many MSW challenges, especially at final Although a number of regulations on waste
disposal sites (contributing to problems including management have been issued, these have yet to be
open pit dumping, and other environmental issues prioritised and local competent authorities are often
due to lack of liners, soil cover, treatment of leachate, unclear on what should be enforced in lieu of the
etc.). central government. In addition to Sub‐decree No. 36
on Solid Waste Management adopted on 27 April 1999
In addition, waste services provided by private
and Inter‐Ministerial Prakas of MoI and MoE No. 80 on
companies continue to practice mixed collection,
Solid Waste Management in Provinces/ Municipalities
transport and disposal of MSW, especially with regard
in 2003, Sub‐decree No. 113 (August 2015), there has
to hazardous, medical and industrial waste. Local
been transfer of specific functions of waste

　 27
 management from sector ministries to municipal and procedure, factories are required to be notified in
district administrations such as Khans and Sangkats. advance, although MOE faces challenges in
However, Phnom Penh was not a targeted municipality coordinating and implementing effective monitoring.
for receiving national funding to improve solid waste
Many industries do not properly store and manage
management practices in line with this Sub-decree.
their waste (for example, frequently mixing industrial
Further, the Khans and Sangkaths are still unaware of
waste with general waste) requiring high physical
their responsibility in waste management despite the
exertion on the part of industrial waste worker to
transfer of responsibility from central government.
collect, load and transport the waste by vehicle. This is
Although the Inter-ministerial Working Group Decision because industrial waste treatment requires high
to Discuss and Facilitate on Garbage and Urban Solid investment capital, current overall safety performance
Waste Management Task Transfer, No. 1070 dated on remains inadequate (i.e, collection, disposal and
12 November 2015 and Inter-ministerial Circular on leachate management is limited). At the same time,
the Implementation of Sub-decree No. 113 on Garbage reuse and/or recycling for some waste categories exist
and Urban Solid Waste Management, No. 1070, dated both for local consumption or export including cloth
on 12 November 2015, have been implemented, these scraps, paper, and metal.
sub-decree has yet to be fully enforced by the
Due to a limited number of competent officers with
government.
technical and legal understanding concerning
industrial waste management, improvements in
monitoring and inspection capacities are required

7.2.  Industrial Waste both at the national and provincial levels, with a clear
demarcation of responsibilites. This would ensure
Management
more accurate assessment of the impacts of the
industrial sector and enable environmental laws to be
　
Challenges in Industrial Solid Waste enforced more effectively (Chea, 2016). Environmental
violations are primarily committed outside of working
hours (at night) and holidays, and searches to identify
The industrial factories are mainly clustered in Phnom
guilty parties are not yet conducted in any systematic
Penh and nearby provinces as well as other areas.
manner (Chea, 2016).
Data estimations on waste volumes are only available
in terms of solid waste collection rates measured in
cubic metres, the majority of which is garment/textile
waste. Total volumes of marketable waste, sold by
7.3.  Hazardous Waste
respective factories, is not available.
Management
The waste collection fee set by Declaration No. 148,
Annex 2 of the Ministry of Environment Cambodia, Public participation of relevant stakeholders in Phnom
2002 is currently not achievable and this limits the Penh concerning proper management of hazardous
ability of the private sector to effectively manage and waste remains limited, especially in terms of
operate waste service companies focused on awareness among consumers (business as well as
collection, transport and proper treatment of households). In addition, national and local authorities
industrial waste as well as future expansion to other lack technically competent officers to monitor and
provinces. According to the current inspection enforce sound hazardous waste management

28 7. Major Challenges and Areas for Improvement  　

practices. There are also limited regulatory measures, resulting from: (i) open burning of electric cables by
technical guidelines, methods and budget for waste pickers and junkshop owners; (ii) combustion of
implementation of hazardous waste management. waste piles at dumpsites. These actions are beyond
the competence of authorities and may lead to serious
Although various studies on e-waste management in
environmental and human health impacts. This is
Phnom Penh have been conducted, there have not
mostly because the specific legislation/regulation for
been many pilot projects focused on e-waste,
PCDD/PCDF management has not yet been
especially recycling. An absence of reliable
developed.
information/data, expertise and expertise on the
proper management of e-waste, including laws
concerning source generation, relevant rules on EEE/
UEEE imports and health risks and hazards associated
with handling and disposal should be circulated in 7.4.  Medical Waste Management
MPP. Laws and guidelines on formal collection and
transportation on e-waste collection and
In Cambodia, most health care service providers mix
transportation are lacking. Further, Cambodia lacks
medical waste with the municipal waste which is
the requisite technology for testing the safety of
thereafter collected by the Medical Waste
imported e-waste, and thus requires tools, resources
Management Unit (MWMU). In the case of Phnom
and capacity for examining safety issues with regard
Penh, MWMU is experiencing major issues concerning
to imported electronics equipment/ devices/
the level of willingness to pay among health care
instruments, etc.
service providers. Payments of collection fees are far
Regarding POPs, there is very limited awareness/ below existing waste tariffs (ranging from 20% to
knowledge concerning how to address unintentionally 35%) and therefore efforts have been made to increase
produced POPs in MPP. Information available on the fee on an annual basis. This is a factor when
POPs between sectors differs; some have enough considering upgrading and expanding medical waste
information, but some have little or no information. management to other M/D in other provinces,
There is inadequate information on chemicals, POP- especially with regard to the separation of medical
related products, as well as POPs contained in various waste from domestic/household waste. In addition,
materials and residues due to improper database high investment capital is required for managing
management by the relevant organisations. Most of medical waste treatment facilities, including operation
the time, different stakeholders in hazardous solid and maintenance costs.
waste including the private sector, do not want to
share data/information. Therefore, there is no
transparent information on the different kinds/
amount of hazardous waste produced and how the 7.5.  Construction and Demolition
waste is managed. On other hand, dissemination of Waste Management
information, education and knowledge on proper
management of hazardous waste is not widely There is insufficient data/information concerning the
conducted. volume of generated C&D waste and its composition.
According to existing regulations, C&D waste
Local enterprises are seen to be contributing to the
management only comprises collection from
generation of POPs with the release of PCDD/PCDF
construction sites, where such waste is required to be

　 29
 properly stored in a designated areas, as well as final
disposal. At present there are no legal instruments or
guidelines focused on the management of C&D waste.
C&D waste is currently classified as municipal waste;
however, waste generators are responsible for
transporting the waste to the municipal landfill site
and are required to outlay addition fees for the
disposal of C&D waste. Because the formal collection,
transport and disposal of C&D waste is not practiced
in MPP, there is wide confusion about procedures with
regard to final disposal. Accordingly, because C&D
waste may be substantial in volume, it can create
challenges for municipal authorities tasked with
management and disposal (UNEP, 2009). At the same
time, C&D waste also contains high amounts of
recyclable materials, such that if appropriate
regulations exist, a large percentage of the waste
could be recycled easing pressure on final disposal
facilities (UNEP, 2009).

30 7. Conclusions
8. Major Challenges
and Recommendation  　
and Areas for Improvement  　
8. Conclusions and
Recommendation
This study finds that waste management is a great the use of organic waste in commercial production.
challenge in Phnom Penh and there are many gaps
The development of a national legislative and
and shortcomings in the current waste management
institutional framework for waste management has
system. As highlighted in this study, the promotion of
been in progress following the issue of Sub-decree
holistic waste management in Phnom Penh, continues
No. 113 on Urban Solid Waste Management; the
to be constrained by an increasing volume of waste,
provision of new regulations, tools, and technical and
lack of data and information on current waste
financial support aimed at empowering local
management systems, unsatisfactory waste
authorities to address MSWM have also been ongoing
management services, limited infrastructure, unclear
since 2015. However local authorities are still unaware
responsibility by concerned authorities, unavailability
of their responsibility in waste management due
of waste treatment technology as well as poor
improper communication and guidance between
management among households and businesses.
central government and local government based on
Aside from the solid waste that is collected and
authority transfer.
transported to assigned landfills, much of the city’s
waste is disposed of by open burning and dumping, As documented above, a number of gaps and
which poses risks to the environment and the wider challenges were identified both in terms of availability
public. Mismanagement of waste, including the lack and accuracy of existing data on solid waste in Phnom
of source separation, the mixing of domestic and Penh for all different kinds of solid waste, and some
hazardous waste, and the lack of effective recycling recommendations were proposed to manage the
and treatment facilities thus remains a major obstacle waste using a more holistic approach as listed below.
for Phnom Penh’s continued development. Identifying gaps and recommendations holds
implications for this study as well as pointing out the
As there are no proper regulations on different kind of
need for developing a city waste management
solid waste, Phnom Penh must tackle a range of policy
strategy.
challenges in this regard. For instance, the
development of legal instruments including detailed
guidelines and regulations on hazardous waste,
industrial solid waste, medical waste and C&D waste Recommendations for
are required to encourage due diligence on the part of Appropriate Municipal Solid
waste generators. Similarly, there is no specific Waste Management
legislation or regulation in Phnom Penh aimed at
• Future assessments of waste management should
minimising and/or halting the release of
take into account the number of internal migrants
unintentionally produced POPs, apart from the
from other provinces/cities as well as tourist arrivals
National Environmental Law and relevant sub-
in population estimates in order to avoid
decrees. Likewise, the city has a limited number of
misinterpreting waste collection rate figures and
regulations to separate, collect, treat and promote
other data.

　 31
 • Basic information on waste activities should be coordination between national and municipal
made publicly available; this would be particularly actors.
helpful in attracting future investments to the • Local environmental offices should be granted the
sector. Disseminating lessons learned and good authority to enforce laws independently, without
practice examples from other countries would be Ministry authorisation, in order to more effectively
useful for enhancing information and knowledge engage with local communities and support their
sharing. needs.
• Although various studies have been conducted on • Community-based environmental education
municipal solid waste management in Cambodia, measures should be developed and implemented
especially targeting main cities and municipalities, accordingly, including integration of waste
there is a general desire among local authorities to management topics in educational curriculum,
support the development of pilot or demonstration capacity building of religious authorities and
projects with the potential for addressing current disciples during festivals, and media campaigns
MSWM issues, including in the areas of waste broadcasted and disseminated via newspapers,
reduction, improved collection service, promotion internet, social media and television, such as
of source separation and waste recycling. awareness raising on appropriate hygiene and
• Local authorities should be supported by clear sanitation practices in low income and vulnerable
regulatory instruments and delegated appropriate communities.
responsibilities for waste management including • Penalties for waste violations, such as open
through incentives and other means. dumping of waste on fallow land, streets, rivers,
• Guidelines and incentives should be developed etc. should be initiated and enforced without delay,
aimed at improving implementation and operations with transparent mechanisms to encourage the
of the existing MSWM system as needed, supported involvement and support of the wider public.
by sufficient political will and the commitment of • Continued awareness raising, together with efforts
all stakeholders, to be carried out by the responsible to strengthen the capacity of institutions and law
local authorities. enforcement shall be conducted to encourage
• Upon implementation of Sub‐decree No. 113, town/ behaviour changes of the general public.
municipality and district-level administrations • Case studies with clear examples of lessons learned,
should be granted appropriate responsibilities for especially with regard to landfill construction,
managing solid waste management. A requisite operation and management should be widely
coordination mechanism should be developed disseminated.
outlining clear institutional roles and responsibilities • Community-based solid waste management
to increase the overall effectiveness of solid waste practices should be directed by responsible actors
management in MPP. (i.e., municipal authorities, community leaders and
• Future capacity development activities should other concerned stakeholders) starting with a focus
focus on improving the capabilities of administrative on addressing public complaints with regard to
staff, waste collection companies, municipalities existing waste management services. This activity
and ministries. Such activities should be carried out should include the creation of a public hotline for
with recognition of existing institutional hierarchies citizens to describe specific waste issues and
and structures, emphasising the efficient problems (location, time, etc.) which the
organisation and administration of waste designated authorities would seek to address with
management particularly at MPP level to enhance practical measures aimed at changing behavior,

32 8. Conclusions and Recommendation  　

 such as educating the public about waste strengthening and enforcing national policies (for
prevention. Such an initiative could subsequently instance, Sub-decree No. 16 on Management of
be followed by campaigns aimed at promoting Electrical and Electronic Waste; Declaration on
waste separation at source once appropriate Permit Standard Setting of Toxic or Hazardous
recycling facilities have been established. Substances Discharged).
• Government should support and encourage the • The development of training workshops and
development of waste recycling facilities to dissemination of information to the public
advance green business initiatives. regarding various type of EEE/e-waste substances
• Landfills should more widely take into consideration is also recommended, including but not limited to
safety measures concerning the protection of the following topics:
human and environmental health. Further, the life ▪ Implementation of the 3Rs related to e-waste
of a landfill would be significantly increased if waste (i.e., reduce, reuse and recycle)
is separated at source, and if composting is carried ▪ Sound management of e-waste
out for organic waste, as well as using a compactor ▪ Impact assessments on waste with regard to
at the landfill to manage the waste. environmental, health and economic factors
• Government and CINTRI should consider sustaining ▪ Analysis of various materials associated with
the current scheme for waste service fee collection e-waste (especially toxic and hazardous
through EDC in order to maintain the current level substances in EEE)
of income, while optimizing the differentiated fee ▪ Occupational health and safety of waste
system based on the weight and payment capacity. operators
The awareness raising activities by the government • E-waste recycling should be invested in, with a
targeting waste generators on the waste view to both recovering valuable materials and
management and promotion of 3R will also play an resources as well as raising awareness on the
important role to this end. avoidance of hazardous pollution through
improved waste prevention practices.
• Developing and implementing training workshops
and disseminating information to the public on the
Recommendations for
following:
Appropriate Hazardous Waste
Management ▪ Drivers and effects of various types of POPs
▪ Improvement of MRV for accounting for POPs
• There should be development of pilot or by concerned stakeholders
demonstration projects aimed at improving the ▪ Environmental sound POPs management
e-waste management systems and practices (e.g. • Importance of developing relevant legislation/
waste separation at source, separate collection, regulation for PCDD/PCDF management and
recycling and so on) to get skills and knowledge for enforcing credible accountability mechanisms in
proper waste management of hazardous waste by the private sector in line with improvements
different stakeholders. inbusiness performance
• Institutional capacity and awareness of national • Development and enhancement of appropriate
and local authorities should be further enhanced on technology to reduce impacts of POPs
relevant international legislation and guidelines on • Importance of public engagement and support for
e-waste management, including for example the pollution prevention and treatment
Basel Convention, with a view towards • Promotion of inter-ministerial and cross-sectoral

　 33
 cooperation with clearly identified roles and • MWMU should work towards progressively and
responsibilities incrementally increasing waste collection fees
year-by-year, with a view to more effectively
investing in the expansion of incineration facilities
for the treatment of medical waste.
Recommendations for
• Phnom Penh MWMU should be promoted as a
Appropriate Industrial Waste
centre of excellence aimed at raising the awareness
Management
and building the capacity of relevant stakeholders
• Efforts to enhance accountability with regard to and medical waste treatment operators in other
industrial solid waste management should target provinces and cities.
both the private sector and responsible authorities • Attention should be paid to efforts aimed at
to encourage more environmentally sound increasing the number of medical waste treatment
industrial development in Cambodia. facilities in line with the expansion of the city,
• Declaration No. 148 should clearly highlight recognising that citizens may complain about
opportunities for marketing reusable and recyclable pollution generated by the incineration plants in
materials produced by the factories. the future.
• Legal instruments regarding industrial inspection • Replacement incinerators should be more user-
procedures should be improved upon including by friendly, as well as easier to maintain, and should
enhancing response mechanisms to violations make use of reliable appropriate technologies.
committed by factories.
• MOE should make efforts to coordinate and guide
factories in proper waste separation practices;
Recommendations for
strong enforcement of waste separation would
Appropriate Construction and
assist waste collection companies in improving the
DemolitionWaste
quality of service provision.
• Evaluate opportunities to raise industrial waste • Private C&D waste collection service providers,
collection fees to levels comparable to existing including individual workers, should be registered
tariffs set by MOE with a view towards enhancing with a view towards formalising employment in the
the capacity of waste collection and treatment sector. This should include regularly reporting data
companies to improve the quality of service on estimated collection amounts in order to better
provision. support oversight and management by the public
• The government should take a more active role in sector.
providing technical guidance and support towards • Guidelines on C&D waste management and
improving conditions of industrial landfill sites. treatment should be developed, which focus on
mandating the recovery and reuse of C&D waste ,
and enforcing prohibitions on open burning of C&D
waste.
Recommendations for
• Existing regulations designed to stop open burning
Appropriate Medical Waste
of C&D waste should be implemented and enforced
Management
without delay, as combustion of C&D waste may

• The separation of medical waste at source should release toxic pollutants to the environment with

be further promoted and enforced by law. corresponding impacts on human health. Health

34 8. Conclusions and Recommendation  　

 inspectors should work towards monitoring and
evaluating pollution levels in cooperation with local
communities and encourage public participation in
legal proceedings targeting polluters.
• Hazardous substances contained in C&D waste
should be disposed of separately, clearly
communicating precise guidelines that specify
separate treatment of C&D waste from municipal
waste. In addition, dissemination of information on
proper C&D waste management practices and
related outreach activities should be conducted
targeting service providers and other relevant
stakeholders.

　 35
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38 8. Conclusions and Recommendation