Tonle Sap communities urged to reduce plastic waste

Tonle Sap communities urged to reduce plastic waste

The Environment Ministry is urging communities living along the Tonle Sap lake in Siem Reap province to prevent plastic waste going into its tributary rivers which fish and rare birds inhabit.

Neth Pheaktra, ministry spokesman, during the launch the “R Project” to protect the lake on Saturday said the tributary rivers are rich in biodiversity, besides the millions of humans who have also benefited from Tonle Sap lake, including tourists.

He said students and other citizens must organise themselves to prevent plastic waste from being thrown into the lake and its rivers because doing so endangers wildlife ecosystems.

“People living in and around the area of Tonle Sap lake need to stop throwing rubbish into waters, burn rubbish and they must also reduce plastic consumption because plastic takes hundreds of years to fully decompose,” Mr Pheaktra said.

Hong Lihor, a student who attended the launch, said the ministry conducted a study on the quality of water and soil, as well as the economy.

“Plastic waste in the ground causes soil to lose fertility and quality,” he said. “If we throw plastic in the water, biodiversity will die and the water will be polluted.”

“If we burn plastic rubbish, the smoke will seep into the atmosphere,” Lihor said.

The Environment Ministry, the Education Ministry and the Cambodia Rural Students Trust are collaborating to educate and provide knowledge on the environment.

The project aims to distribute 40,000 environmentally friendly bottles to students from 56 schools in the province.

“This is a movement that encourages other schools to participate in actively implementing measures to reduce the use of plastic in schools and communities,” Aviv Palti, founder and director of CRST, said. “[This] campaign is to say no to single-use plastic products by turning to use eco-friendly products instead.”

Source: Khmer Times