Phnom Penh Municipal Hall has handed over 40 modern rubbish tuk-tuks to six districts in the capital as a means to transport rubbish while it seeks to improve waste management.
Municipal hall spokesman Met Meas Pheakdey said on Sunday that the administration is planning to distribute the modern rubbish tuk-tuks to all districts as Cintri’s contract as the city’s waste collector was cancelled and new companies are found.
Cintri’s contract was ended after years of poor management and the government announced that the city would soon be divided into four zones with four new companies hired.
Meas Pheakdey said the distribution of the 40 tuk-tuks on Friday was carried out according to which districts most needed the vehicles.
On Friday, the following districts received tuk-tuks – Chbar Ampov (six), Por Sen Chey (seven), Meanchey (seven), Tuol Kork (10), Prampi Makara (three), Sen Sok (six) and Phsar Thom Thmey Authority (one).
“We did not focus on handing them out equally, but rather on the needs of each district. We distributed the tuk-tuks many times in the past.
“This distribution for the communes and districts will allow them to use the vehicles to transport rubbish from areas that the firm cannot get in. So, we use the tuk-tuk to bring the rubbish out,” Meas Pheakdey said.
Chbar Ampov district governor Cheng Monyra said his district got six motorbikes to collect garbage from locations that the company’s garbage trucks could not reach.
He said according to plans, the municipal hall will deliver the tuk-tuks to all districts and communes to make transporting waste to dumpsites more convenient and quicker to maintain a hygienic public environment.
“These tuk-tuks were delivered to the communes for stationed sanitation officials to use them. If there is rubbish, they fetch it. While collecting it, they must educate the public about proper rubbish management,” he said.
On November 4, last year, Phnom Penh municipal governor Khuong Sreng handed over similar vehicles to four districts – Chroy Changvar, Daun Penh, Chamkarmon and Boeung Keng Kang.
Meanwhile, Kampong Speu Provincial Hall and World Bank representatives discussed waste management on Friday.
Kampong Speu provincial governor Vei Samnang met with a World Bank Working Group to gather information on waste and landfill management in the province.
The World Bank has set up a project on rubbish and solid waste management, selecting the provinces of Kampong Speu and Battambang as targets for implementation, Samnang said on Sunday.
The project will finance solid waste management in the local landfill, other solid waste infrastructure, legal frameworks and capacity building for officials at the national and sub-national levels, while also creating more favourable conditions for the private sector, he said.
“The reason why the World Bank chose the provinces of Kampong Speu and Battambang is the two are the most developed with factories, small- and large-scale enterprises, and the number of people.
“Also, the two are also target provinces that dump a lot of rubbish indiscriminately. So if the World Bank helps with this, it would be great,” he said.
