PHNOM PENH: The Cambodian capital Phnom Penh was once fondly known as the "Pearl of Asia”, with pretty post-colonial Khmer architecture, immaculate parks and tree-lined avenues. Today, it is a city of garbage, where mountains of rubbish engulf acres of landfills and grimy streets reek of waste and decay.

But one day, it could see new roads built with trash if the Ministry of Public Works and Transport takes up the suggestion of two Cambodian female students - Sokanha Ly and Bunhourng Tan - whose green creation could turn plastic waste into cheaper and better roadways.

The pair are graduates from Harpswell, a Phnom Penh-based foundation that teaches young Cambodian women to be leaders through debates and civic engagement in English and French. In 2016, they co-founded a start-up called Eco-Plastic to transform trash into roads.

"We want to see Eco-Plastic as an eco-friendly mechanism to solve plastic hell in Cambodia, Southeast Asia and the world," said 21-year-old Bunhourng Tan, who is studying business administration at American University of Phnom Penh.

Worried about Cambodia's waste problem, the young entrepreneurs spent years researching how they could turn "plastic hell" into a green product.

Their endeavour has led to the creation of PAC - Plastic Asphalt Concrete - a combination of plastic scraps and bitumen, which is a black mixture of hydrocarbons used for road surfacing. The difference between PAC and traditional asphalt concrete is that the former costs less and produces stronger, more durable roads.

Solid waste from more than 1.5 million residents in Phnom Penh ends up at two landfills – one in Dangkao district and the other in Steung Menchey, which is already full. In Dangkao, the facility spans 310,000 sq m and is designed for 25-year operation. Today, nine years into the service, it is close to reaching full capacity.

“If we don’t cut down on waste or reprocess it more, the impact will be huge,” Kiden told Channel NewsAsia, adding the high cost of reprocessing plants often discourages investors from the green business and that trash collection for exports remains a “competitive” industry in Cambodia.

As the nation grows more urbanised, plastic waste continues to amass at its landfills. In Phnom Penh, some 10 million plastic bags are consumed every day, based on a study by sustainable development foundation ACRA. Each year, the foundation estimated, an average urban Cambodian uses more than 2,000 plastic bags - ten times higher the amount in China and countries in the European Union.

they came up with idea?

its been around at least 15 years,when they were babies,they even laid a road made like that in India in 2011,Jharkhand or something.

its not so much the making of it but the collecting,storing, sorting and processing thats an issue.

well done though for pushing the cause,in english and french