Six months until an official launch of its operation, a Cambodian non-governmental organisation, the River Ocean Cleanup (ROC), in cooperation with Leader Energy, has collected 80 tonnes of waste from Cambodia’s main rivers.

The update was shared during the official kick-start of their five-year cleanup mission in Cambodia on Mar. 20 in Phnom Penh under the auspices of Minister of Environment H.E. Eang Sophalleth.

Deeply appreciating the work, the minister said that it is well in line with the government and ministry’s commitment to promote cleaner, greener, and more sustainable Cambodia.

H.E. Eang Sophalleth and Phnom Penh Governor H.E. Khuong Sreng, who also joined the event, called on the strong support and engagement of the public as well as concerned authorities for the cleanup.

ROC Executive Director Nou Sovann highlighted that, ‘We can clean up the waste from the river and its banks in five to six years, but to keep the river clean forever, we need to put in place proper and workable waste manageme
nt along with public awareness and necessary law enforcement.”

The cleanup mission, he added, has so far collected about 1,693 metric tonnes of waste from the rivers and their banks in Phnom Penh and Kandal province.

The collected waste from the start of the cleanup operation in 2023 until its completion in 2028 will be recycled into a wide range of items for different uses.

Source: Agence Kampuchea Presse