Today marks the final day of the one-week program of a German trade mission organized by EuroCham and the GIZ Business Scouts for Development Programme. Carried out under the theme of waste management and resource recovery, the nine mostly German company delegates met with Minster of Environment H.E. Eang Sophalleth and waste collectors in Phnom Penh, governors and deputy governors of three Cambodian provinces, and various landfills and waste management sites across the country.

Throughout the visit, the German delegation was able to engage with many relevant stakeholders to promote their products and services in Cambodia and explore avenues of cooperation.

As mentioned by Christoph Janensch, GIZ Business Scout for Development, the problems surrounding waste are similar in all provinces. Waste segregation at the source is a major issue and leads to all waste being mixed together. Organic waste then fills and clogs landfills, causing a variety of issues.

It should be noted that the law states that waste should be separated at home, although this is not enforced and is not practiced by most households. One key to turning the situation around is raising public awareness, which the trade mission helped accomplish.