New trucks ‘improve’ waste pick-up service

THE Ministry of Environment provided a total of 58 garbage trucks, 60 incinerators, 118 cargo tricycles and other support equipment to municipal-district administrations since early last year to strengthen the management of solid waste in many towns across the Kingdom.

The equipment has been used to clean, collect, transport and store solid waste throughout the country for the purpose of ensuring clean, hygienic villages. The strategy is also in response to the government’s policies, laws, norms and vision, under the slogans “Clean, beautiful and environmentally friendly” and “Clean Cambodia starts from each of us”, according to ministry spokesman Neth Pheaktra.

“Some municipal-district administrations are implementing policies on better urban solid waste management, and some are moving towards effective solid waste management in the future in order to take ownership the issues surrounding this issue,” he said.

Pheaktra told The Post that the provision of garbage trucks to the Department of Environment and the district administrations is to provide them with sufficient means to collect garbage in their towns and areas.

“This is a way of providing additional support to them. We also provide technical and planning support for various sub-national administrations,” he said.

He added that in practice, this meant the ministry delivered training on techniques for waste management and guidelines to prepare efficient, sustainable landfills.

Chhay Monly, director of the Takeo provincial environment department, said the provincial administration has now received five garbage trucks and three incinerators for local use. This kind of material investment had made it far easier for sub-national authorities to improve the services they provided to the public.

“Once they have the trucks and incinerators, every district has the ability to collect garbage and see that it is disposed of correctly. We are also establishing a maintenance programme so that our trucks will be in use for a long time,” he said.

He added that each district administration is planning to expand garbage collection services to remote areas that have problems with garbage storage. He suggested that the ministry look into delivering more trucks and other vehicles, so all districts can offer adequate trash disposal.

The ministry said that the deliveries were a part of its strategy to support the government’s “safe village-communedistrict” policy which was implemented in January last year.

Just three provinces did not receive new trucks in this latest round of issuance; Pailin, Battambang and Kampong Thom.