The Ministry of Environment has ordered the solid waste landfill in Takeo province’s Don Keo town to immediately halt all burning of trash at the site and issued a fine after they caused environmental damage, impacting the livelihoods of local residents.
A February 28 announcement explained that inspectors from the General Department of Environmental Protection, accompanied by local authorities in Don Keo town and the provincial environment department, inspected the landfill in February 27.
The inspection determined improper waste management practices and a failure to comply with legal requirements that resulted in smoke and odours that affected the living conditions of nearby residents.
The ministry ordered an immediate halt to waste burning and issued administrative penalties, under Article 161 and Article 668 of the Environmental and Natural Resources Code.
In addition, the company must implement regular monitoring to prevent fires, prepare firefighting equipment and submit an Initial Environmental Impact Assessment report to the ministry for review
The ministry will monitor compliance, noting that failure to comply may result in the revocation of the site’s license.
On February 26, ministry undersecretary of state Khvay Atitya and a team from the Department of Air Quality, Noise and Vibration Management, as well as local environment officials, conducted outreach activities on preventing and reducing air pollution.
They also deployed a mobile air quality monitoring vehicle at Techo Sen Koh Kong General and Technical High School in Khemarak Phoumin town, with participation from local authorities, teachers and students.
During the event, Atitya briefed attendees on the status of air quality in Cambodia, ongoing national air quality monitoring efforts and the implementation of the “Clean Sky” campaign.
He claimed that the results of the ministry’s air quality monitoring programmes indicate that Cambodia does not experience significant air pollution and has not polluted neighbouring countries.
Atitya called on all participants — especially students — to help disseminate Government Circular No. 01 on preventing and reducing public air pollution, particularly measures to prevent forest fires, stop the burning of agricultural waste and forest clearing and end the burning of garbage, solid waste and plastic, which are sources of declining air quality and harmful to public health.
