Plastic bag management options in phnom penh, Cambodia

Abstract

© 2020, Greater Mekong Subregion Academic and Research Network, Asian Institute of Technology. Plastic waste composition in Phnom Penh dramatically increased from 6% in 1999 to 21.2 % in 2016. Plastic bag use also increased. A study in 2015 has shown that the urban Cambodian people use more than 2,000 plastic bags each year (on average) which is 10 times higher than the European Union. Although the country recently issued a policy on plastic bag management, the enforcement is very limited. Therefore, further intervention is needed to improve plastic bag management in Phnom Penh. In this study, 160 questionnaire surveys were conducted to identify the behavior and knowledge of plastic bag consumption of the citizens so that policy options can be proposed. The result has shown that 90.9% of people disposed of plastic bags with another type of waste. Related to the proposed policy options, 43.2 % chose alternative materials. Charging a fee for plastic bag use and banning plastic bag consumption were 28.6 % and 28.2%, respectively. Thus, it is not an acceptable solution to ban the plastic bag consumption in Phnom Penh, currently. The proposed policy options are mixed policies such as charging a fee for plastic bag use, promoting alternative materials, and improving awareness and education.