Cambodia's plastic problem

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Re: Cambodia's plastic problem

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Tackling plastic pollution for communities and coral reefs in coastal Cambodia
by Fauna & Flora International
18 June 2019
Take a moment to imagine yourself on a sun-kissed beach on Koh Rong, watching the sea foam onto the white sand and hearing the gentle rustle of tropical rainforest behind you. The stunning beaches and vibrant marine biodiversity of Koh Rong and Cambodia's other islands may be precious, but not all is idyllic. With each rising tide, waves of bottles, bags and other waste wash up on the shoreline, a symptom of the estimated eight million tons of plastic that seep into global oceans each year—the equivalent of over 26,000 Boeing 747 airplanes. This issue is affecting marine ecosystems from the Coral Triangle to the Arctic Circle, and Cambodia is by no means immune from this global scourge.

Plastic pollution harms wildlife and communities
It is well known that marine plastic pollution harms ocean life, including many species found in Cambodian waters. Endangered sea turtles may mistakenly swallow plastics bags, which closely resemble their jellyfish prey, or find their nesting beaches covered in trash. Plastic bags and nets can smother or even kill corals—the cornerstones of marine ecosystems—with recent research also showing that exposure to plastic particles increases coral disease outbreaks. Tiny pieces of plastic are also swallowed by fish and other marine creatures, entering the food chain and even ending up in seafood destined for human consumption.

But the plastic pollution problem is not just an environmental one—it is a social issue as well. Mismanaged waste, including plastic, can harm human health, especially in remote island communities. In addition to the health risks from eating seafood contaminated by marine plastic pollution, mismanaged plastic waste on land can clog sewers and drains, leading to flooding and the spread of water- and mosquito-borne diseases.
In rural Cambodia, plastic is often burned, a process which releases toxic fumes that can cause lifelong health problems and even death. There is also an economic price to pay—plastic pollution is an eyesore that poses a risk to the big revenues pouring in from the islands' rapidly growing tourism sector. Our concern is that the social impacts of mismanaged plastic waste will hit hardest in vulnerable coastal communities who depend on the ocean most directly.
https://phys.org/news/2019-06-tackling- ... reefs.html
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Re: Cambodia's plastic problem

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Pollution • June 28, 2019
The waste land
Southeast Asia is racing to follow China's ban on plastic waste imports. And with Cambodia now forced to clean up its own mess, the Kingdom has a chance to turn piles of plastic trash into treasure
By Evie Breese and Thim Rachna

Sitting outside the recycling facility that houses her business and family, Kim Mouy, 51, who also goes by Mae Kamouy, watches over her workers as they churn through Phnom Penh’s trash.

She is perched upon a wooden stump opposite an unstable heap of black plastic – car dashboards, fan casing, old televisions, speakers – selecting a piece and cracking it with a mallet to split apart any metal or glass still attached.

In the house sits other kinds of collected waste separated into piles: colourfully woven plastics neatly packaged in sacks ready to be shipped out, metal scraps still waiting to be sorted. In one corner, two men toss plastic rice bags into a machine that presses the bags into blocks.

Born into a Vietnamese immigrant family in Cambodia, Mae Kamouy spent most of her childhood scavenging waste with her siblings. Decades later, those experiences helped her to run her own recycling business, a few streets away from the increasingly stuffed Dangkor district landfill.

Mae Kamouy’s business involves purchasing scrap plastic which is then sorted, cleaned and packaged or ground into tiny pieces. Most of her buyers are outside Cambodia – mainly in Vietnam and Thailand, where there is a much higher demand for scrap to be processed.

But the ongoing plastic import bans from the neighboring countries may threaten steep declines in profit in an industry where profit margins are already minute, threatening the closure of her business.
Full article: https://southeastasiaglobe.com/the-waste-land/
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Re: Cambodia's plastic problem

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Cambodia: The School Built from Waste - ARTE Reportage
25 min, French/German television
Available from 29/06/2019 to 28/04/2022
https://www.arte.tv/en/videos/087835-00 ... rom-waste/
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Re: Cambodia's plastic problem

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The basic problem is that making recycled is not profitable. It takes too much resources, time, and labor to recycle and then turn the material into product compared to just making a new one. Even Western countries lose money recycling (and thus used to ship it to mainland China).

It’s a problem. Paper grocery bags, anyone?
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Re: Cambodia's plastic problem

Post by SternAAlbifrons »

newkidontheblock wrote: Tue Jul 02, 2019 4:21 am The basic problem is that making recycled is not profitable. It takes too much resources, time, and labor to recycle and then turn the material into product compared to just making a new one. Even Western countries lose money recycling (and thus used to ship it to mainland China).

It’s a problem. Paper grocery bags, anyone?
And banana leaves and various palm thatch wrappings and similar.
Like the good old days not that long ago.
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Re: Cambodia's plastic problem

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July 18, 2019 / 2:39 AM / Updated an hour ago
Plastic cups runneth over at Cambodia's Rubbish Cafe

KOMPONG SPEU, Cambodia (Reuters) - As Southeast Asia grapples with massive tides of rubbish hitting its beaches, a Cambodian coffee shop owner is looking to build a business out of some of this waste as a way to promote sustainability.

Ouk Vanday runs “Rubbish Cafe”, a small wooden structure on the outskirts of Phnom Penh reinforced with walls made out of beer and plastic water bottles. The cafe spells its name with dead leaves on its signboard.

“This sends a message to other shop owners to think beyond just making a profit, but to look at the big impact caused by trash to their communities and the world - how it affects nature and how it worsens nature, how it affects the younger generation,” said Vanday, a 32-year-old former hotel manager.

Customers can buy a cup of coffee for either 6,000 riels ($1.50) or 100 plastic cups, which go towards the cafe’s construction and other projects.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-asia ... SKCN1UD01O
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Duncan
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Re: Cambodia's plastic problem

Post by Duncan »

No one mentions the word polystyrene. I see loads of the stuff arriving from Vietnam, it gets thrown in the Mekong and ends up back in Vietnam.

Is that what we call recycling.

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Cambodia,,,, Don't fall in love with her.
Like the spoilt child she is, she will not be happy till she destroys herself from within and breaks your heart.
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Re: Cambodia's plastic problem

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Cleanbodia are proposing alternatives to plastic bags.

Cleanbodia: Born out of a concern for the damage we’ve done to our one and only Earth, Cleanbodia was started as a way to bring eco-friendly ideas and solutions to Cambodia. We realize the amazing potential that Cambodians have to be a force of change for the environment not only in Southeast Asia but across the globe. We aim to help foster that change in a creative, dynamic, and sustainable way.

We love Cambodia.
It’s not just the ancient temples that make the Kingdom so beautiful- from the hills in Mondulkiri to the coast along the gulf, Cambodia is filled with diverse landscapes and exotic animals. Sometimes we forget how our actions can have a negative impact on the environment surrounding us. We want to give people the option to choose to be eco-friendly. That’s why we provide creative and innovative solutions to help reduce waste in Cambodia.

Plastic bags are inefficient.
Most bags are used for less than 20 minutes, to carry items from the store to home. But the life of a traditional plastic bag is much longer. In fact, plastic is estimated to last from 500 to 1,000 years. It’s made from a non-renewable resource and causes a host of problems to the environment whether it’s thrown on the street or in a landfill.

So how can we provide a solution? We think placing our biodegradable bags into stores and markets as an eco-friendly alternative might be a start. Look for them in any of our partner stores and let us know what you think!
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Our bags are made with cassava, a root vegetable grown throughout Southeast Asia. The cassava reduces plastic usage and allows our bags to biodegrade in under five years, whether it is in water, soil, or even buried in garbage. But just because they biodegrade doesn't mean they are weaker. Filled with hot soup or produce from the market, our biodegradable bags are as strong as traditional plastic bags.
https://www.cleanbodia.com/
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j57
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Re: Cambodia's plastic problem

Post by j57 »

plastic has changed the world...
you going to make motos and cars out of steel again?
i grew up when you could stand on the hood of a car and not dent it..
you got paper sacks at the grocery..
coke came in a bottle you paid a deposit on ...
straws would disintegrate after one or two uses.
we drank water out of the faucet..
i could snorkel in Jamaica and it was pure paradise...underwater magic...
i think it is a shame to see all of this refuse..
It sure seems strange to be focusing on a tiny country when I have been all over the world and seen a lot worse.
china sure as fuck is not going to fix anything.
and having western leftist stuck up know it alls tell me how they would cure these folks is a joke.
great...you brought your own bowl and cutlery..
great...you are using a bag you purchased that says save the planet and you just brought home fruit in the same bag you brought home chicken yesterday..great job...
cross contamination at its finest..
recycling sounds great....enacting it is difficult...
we saw how china is helping clean up the world the other day by bringing it to chinaville for storage...
how many countries just barge it out to the ocean and dump it?
maybe we can launch it out into deep space?
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Duncan
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Re: Cambodia's plastic problem

Post by Duncan »

Cambodia has a solution to the problem. You rake up all the leaves and plastic rubbish and burn it at night time when noone can see it.
Cambodia,,,, Don't fall in love with her.
Like the spoilt child she is, she will not be happy till she destroys herself from within and breaks your heart.
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