Plastic Free Cambodia provides education and workshops on the effects of our plastic over-consumption in Cambodia and the world.
Watch our video!Our Mission
Problems we are facing
Single-use plastic is dangerous for the environment
- Plastic never dies, it never goes away
- Every piece of plastic that we have created is still here on earth in one form or another
- Plastic waste in the ocean affects sea animals
- Plastic is eaten by fish and arrives on our plate this way
… and for our health
- Using polystyrene boxes to hold hot food can cause cancer
- Plastic bottles are full of chemicals
- Today in our blood there are heavy industrial chemicals because of the plastic we use everyday
The reality in Cambodia
- There is an over-consumption of single-use plastic in the major cities of Cambodia
- There is a lack of knowledge about the consequences for the environment and health
- There are no recycling options or waste management rules for plastic in Cambodia, everything ends up in the landfills, the river, the sea or burned
That is why…
- Plastic Free Cambodia has developed a program with workshops, advice and leadership trainings
- We are a group of active citizens who want to live in a cleaner environment
- We think that the change starts with all of us! Let’s change together!
Is the average number of plastic bags used per week per person in Cambodia
Average number of plastic bags used per year per person in Cambodia
Times more than in the USA
Our Actions
Education
One-year program
WHERE? Primary schools, high schools, universities, restaurants, NGO and private companies.
WHAT? Plastic Free Cambodia provides a full program of trainings, workshops and activities.
Education programs can also include other environmental topics such as forests, water and climate change effects.
Problem-solving and team building workshops
WHERE? Restaurants, hotels, companies, social enterprises, NGOs etc.
WHAT? Plastic Free Cambodia provides trainings, workshops, that will engage the audience through the waste management issue.
Challenge
Give up plastic for one month. Can you do it?
Every year, Plastic Free Cambodia organises a challenge, called Plastic Free July, that inspires people to be plastic-free.
Take up the Challenge!
Take the Plastic Free July Challenge to help create a cleaner Cambodia and a healthy life for you and your family! Do your best to use no plastic in July. Avoid the top 5 single-use plastics (plastic bottles, plastic straws, plastic cups, plastic bags, styrofoam boxes) or pick one of the top 5 and stick to it!
Why one month? Because it has been proven that when we repeat something at least 21 times, it becomes an habit!
Go Plastic Free!
Where can you find these items?
We have nice bags for sale, made by Husk. Contact us to buy. In Phnom Penh, you can buy them at Cloud, in Siem Reap at New Leaf Eatery and Siem Reap Food Co-op and in Battambang at Ganesha Family Guesthouse. You can also buy a reusable bag at any second hand shop or make your own with an old t-shirt!
You can buy a reusable cup from some second hand shops. You can also use old glass jars as a reusable cup! In Siem Reap the $1.90 store next to ParkHyatt has good options and many of the supermarkets in Siem Reap, Battambang and Phnom Penh stock reusable cups and travel mugs. Check at your local coffee shop too.
You can buy a reusable water bottle at a Lucky Supermarket in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, or in any local market (psar) in the country. The $1.90 store next to ParkHyatt in Siem Reap has many and in Battambang Heng Chhay Ly supermarket has a HUGE selection. You can also buy online with coola-products.com or support a Cambodian start-up: Chhlat! Also check out Refill Not Landfill for bottles of your own and water refill locations.
You can buy a reusable container from any market, supermarket or homewares store in Cambodia! You can often buy second hand at yard sales or moving sales too.
You can buy reusable bamboo straw at Mekong Quilts shops in Phnom Penh or in Siem Reap. In Phnom Penh, you can also find bamboo straws at Eleven One Kitchen restaurants (BKK and Russian Market). In Siem Reap, it is possible to buy metal straws from Footprint Cafe (advance notice for bulk orders). Country wide, bio straws are available from PIC-UPs.
You can find Keep Cups at Lot 369 Café and Bar in Phnom Penh or Sister Srey Café in Siem Reap. As for the reusable cups you can use a old glass jar as takeaway cups! Most supermarkets have travel mugs/coffee cups for sale and even some book stores.
Where can you recycle?
Plastic bottles, cans and cardboard
Separate your waste and sell or give your plastic waste, cans and cardboard to waste pickers.
Old newspapers and magazines
Donate your old newspapers and magazines to Friends ‘N’ stuff, they make jewelry and fun products with them!
Used office paper
Donate your used office paper to Krousar Thmey school of blind. The students use it to practice typing in brail! Contact Naga Earth about their paper recycling workshops.
Plastic bags
Separate your waste and give your used plastic bags to Funky Junk Recycled in Phnom Penh, they knit lots of cool stuff with them! If you’re in Siem Reap you can donate your used plastic bags to ReHash Trash, they also up-cycle our old plastic bags into new items!
Organic waste
You can start a compost at home! Start with a box, put in all the waste from your veggies and fruit, what we call the “green stuff”. Then, add other items, like compostable cardboard, rice husk or any other “brown stuff” like old flowers and dead leaves from trees and plants. You can find more details on how to do it here or here.
Glass
If you’re in Phnom Penh you can donate your wine bottles to Farm to Table.
Batteries
The Anana computer store in Phnom Penh has a recycling bin for batteries!
Want to go Plastic Free?
Jump in, we’re here to help! Contact us for advice and support to go plastic free!
Our Partners
Testimonials
We first heard of Sarah Rhodes and got in touch with her, after reading an article on her speech given on Earth Day 2015. Since HAVEN opened its gates in 2011, we have constantly been working on and improving our sustainability and have put a lot off heart, thought and effort into keeping our ecological footprint small. Meeting Sarah and her team from Plastic Free Cambodia brought us a whole step further regarding the environmental trainings of our HAVEN family. With PFC we have found a dedicated partner who does expert trainings for the whole HAVEN family, helps them develop a deeper understanding for environmental issues and evokes the responsibility to respect, protect and preserve our natural world. We have built a great relationship with Plastic Free Cambodia, and will continue to build on that in the future.
Sara WallimannPFJC team came to Passerelles numériques Cambodia (PNC) to initiate our students to plastic related issues in the framework of a month dedicated to environmental awareness. Many changes have started to occur at PNC since then. They were made possible thanks to PFJC team’s energy, ideas and talent. Students’ and staff ideas have started to evolve, also our actions, my actions! I highly recommend any organization to make the move, to experiment with PFJC both a personal and collective meaningful change.
Elise DurandAfter attending our first workshop with Plastic Free Cambodia, we knew we wanted to be involved. Sarah’s powerful presentation highlighted the problems with single use plastic and presented simple alternatives. Her personal drive and determination to make a real environmental difference encouraged us to begin working together.
After attending several training sessions with PFC, Naga Earth is now able to leverage our network of partners in the community to help spread the message and provide training to more organizations. We couldn’t be more pleased to work with all the fine people volunteering their time for Plastic Free Cambodia. Together we can make positive change happen.
Contact us!
Become a volunteer, a partner, book a workshop or just say hi, feel free to contact us! We’ll be in touch very shortly!
Success Stories
I decided to join Plastic Free July Cambodia because I could see the strong implications of plastic use in Cambodia and it is clear to me that there is a lack of awareness on plastic problems amongst my family, friends and fellow Cambodians. That is why I think that the workshops that PFJC do are very important because students are able to learn about negative impacts of single-use plastic. To be honest, I did not expect such a strong level of interest from the students. It’s amazing! I really like being a volunteer of Plastic Free July Cambodia.
Hellene SarinStarting to work for Plastic Free Cambodia made me realise that we can do great things when we are all together. I am happy to be the project manager of the Phnom Penh team, happy that Sarah offered me this responsibility, delighted to work with our growing team. It’s an amazing and evolving project. We have new challenges everyday. I love it!
Charlotte MuckensturmDonate!
How does your donation help?
- When you give $10, you offer a reusable bottle to a student.
- When you give $20, you offer a pack of reusable items to a student (one reusable bag, one reusable bottle, one food container).
- When you give $75, you contribute towards a 2 hours workshop to a public school (target = 100 students).
- When you give $100, you contribute towards a day of courses to a public school (target = 100 students).
July Challenge!
How do I join?
Give up plastic for one month! It’s easy!
Rule 1 Follow the 5 R’s: Respect, Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.
Rule 2 Keep your plastic waste in a separate bin and count what you use week after week!
Rule 3 Share your stories on our PFC Facebook page!
Take up the Challenge!
Plastic Free July started in Australia in 2011 and in Cambodia in 2015! In 2016, over 60,000 people from 129 countries joined the challenge!
Organize a plastic free challenge at home, school, work… Challenge your friends, colleagues, family, neighbours… Let’s do this together!