Perspectives of solid waste management in rural Cambodia

Abstract

We present perspectives of solid waste in the Cambodian community of Koh Dambang, situated on the Mekong River, identified through a field-based mixed-methods study. We found that Koh Dambang had no waste service and households were responsible for their waste management. The residents interviewed produce approximately 0.4 to 1 kg of waste per person per day, where typically half of the waste is burnt, a quarter is buried and the remainder is dumped. Our research highlighted the desire for a community-level waste management plan. Some degree of waste management centralisation would have environmental, health and economic benefits for the residents, where expert consultation on a community-level incinerator or alternative would also be beneficial, although this is embedded in our existing external perspectives of waste management. Further consideration of the views of the whole community and its administration is required before a strategy could be proposed.