CICP Working Paper, NO. 27 , Solid Waste Management in Cambodia
2009 | Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace
Solid waste management consists of two sectors: the formal operation and the informal scavenging activities. Because scavenging contributes to solid waste management economically and environmentally and also serves as an occupation for some of the most impoverished in the city, recently it has become the focus of scholarly deliberation. A notion of integrating this informal sector of SWM into the formal one is proposed by different scholars. Though they appear to differ in terms of approaches and arguments, their proposed policies are place-based. This paper examines the situations of solid waste management, both the formal and the informal, in Phnom Penh city, and discusses the feasibility of integrating the informal scavenging into the formal management of solid waste. It raises questions about the possible unintended consequences when informal scavenging is integrated through such place-based approach.
These guidelines aim to provide a framework for preventing recycling-related plastic and pellet losses, and environmental leakage. The guidelines are useful for a broad spectrum of stakeholders, particularly policymakers and key plastic recycling actors, including informal waste pickers, junkshops, consolidators, and plastic recycling craft villages. The application of these guidelines is expected to contribute to improving production efficiency in the plastic recycling chain while preventing plastic leakage into the environment.
The manual aim to support both formal and informal recycling enterprises in preventing plastic pollution by advocating best practices and promoting proper housekeeping within informal recycling facilities.
The main goal of this study is to evaluate plastic and pellet losses and leakage from the logistical handling and pre-processing operations of informal recycling groups in Thailand, focusing on recovered post-consumer plastic waste and factory processing operations. The focus areas of this study are the Nonthaburi Municipality and Pattaya City.
This study was conducted following on a simplified three-step approach: 1) collect and analyse data and information relevant to plastic leakage from informal sector recycling; 2) engage with key stakeholders; and 3) disseminate the outcomes of the study.
