Cambodian rivers see return of plastic-guzzling program to combat pollution. New technology removes 20 tonnes of plastic daily, aiming to safeguard fish and water quality
It’s not exactly a “floating rubbish-eating robot,” as one report called it, but a German garbage-collection boat has begun to serve a similar function in the Tonlé Sap river and lake. Featuring a new technology, it can remove as many as 20 tonnes of plastic a day from polluted waters.
Together with the Everwave boat company and the River Ocean Cleanup organisation, Cambodia’s ministries of Environment, Tourism and Public Works and Transport first partnered with the Phnom Penh municipality from March to June 2022 to clean up the Mekong, Bassac and Tonlé Sap rivers. They’re back at it again in 2024, with the cleaning of the Tonlé Sap being an urgent concern.
“We need to remove all plastic to ensure clean water and prevent the loss of fish and biodiversity,” Minister of Environment Eang Sophalleth said. “We must first prevent garbage from flowing through the canals and dump[ing] into the Tonlé Sap, because the Tonlé Sap is not a trash can or plastic container.” Plastic bags, he warned, can “decompose into fish food, and when people eat fish, it also damages our health.” The Ministry of Environment said it will continue to cooperate with the Tonlé Sap Cleanup Partnership by requesting more garbage collection machines on the surface of the water in Cambodia.
Everwave takes the position that plastic itself is not an evil, that a “circular economy” can minimise environmental damage and allow plastic its place in the modern lifestyle. Through a system of “plastic credits,” companies may compensate Everwave one euro per kilogramme of waste collected, sorted, evaluated and recycled. In Cambodia, non-recyclables are sent to Kampot, where Chip Mong Ecocycle works the plastic into cement in lieu of natural resources.
