PHNOM PENH: Plastic pollution has been a major global threat since its creation just over a century ago. Every year, more than 11 million tons of plastic end up in the oceans. German NGO Everwave was originally created to remove ocean plastics, but has now shifted its focus to the main source of ocean pollution: rivers. According to the River Ocean Cleanup (ROC), 90% of plastic polluting our oceans comes from just 10 rivers, and the Mekong is among them.

Everwave has partnered with River Ocean Cleanup at their Zero Waste Center Phnom Penh to remove and process waste from the three rivers that converge at the capital city. Since March of last year over 400 hundred tons of waste have been cleaned from the Mekong, Tonlé Sap and Bassac Rivers. The weight of the waste they have removed is equivalent to 90 elephants and could fill 400 hundred Olympic size pools or 80 football fields.

The Zero Waste Center in Phnom Penh does much more than collect waste: people work tirelessly to sort the waste, which they view as a valuable resource that can be used to produce new materials. Sovann Nou, Executive Director of the ROC, highlighted the dirty work that must be done to produce eco-friendly results saying, “Green job is smelly, you know. Sometimes before getting green, you have to clean.” Everwave collects data to determine root causes of the pollution problem. Jacky Plaster, Project Manager at Everwave, was initially surprised to find that 14% of the waste collected amounted to textiles, footwear and leather.

The center employs boats that collect waste from the rivers, which is then sorted at the facility and divided into “recyclable” and “non-recyclable” and processed as sustainably as possible. Materials deemed to be recyclable are sent to local and international recyclers to create new products. Non-recyclable materials are bailed (which reduces co2 emissions for transport) and sent to Kampot. Then, working with Chip Mong Ecocycle, it is co-processed for use in a cement factory, where plastic is worked into the cement in lieu of natural resources.

Changing people’s views on “waste” is a primary goal of the project, whose members advocate for the shift towards trash as a valuable commodity. “It’s valuable material and this is something you should love in the end, and treat it like that,” said Jacky Plaster, Project Manager at Everwave. Everyone we spoke with stressed the importance of collaborations between individuals, the government and especially the private sector. “We wish to have every company participate in the mission to make our water clean because everyone is drinking water from the source of the river.This is the only freshwater source that we have so far. And it’s a gift from nature, so we have to protect nature as well,” said Sovann Nou.

Other major issues are public awareness of the effects of pollution and lack of infrastructure-mainly bins and dumpsters where citizens can deposit waste. Hong Ki Bura, Operations Manager for ROC, explained that different communities have different issues including accessibility to waste disposal, law enforcement of disposal violations, and community members placing blame on each other rather than taking responsibility. He stressed that working together within the communities is possible and necessary to combat water pollution.

It is clear that the people at the Zero Waste Center are passionate about their work. “I really feel very proud of everyday working to really do something [to have] a positive impact for the country. That inspires me to do what we are doing and inspires my team here to continue doing what we do.” said Sovann Nou . Much of the staff is made up of family members working together towards a better future. Hong Ki Bura wakes up everyday with a sense of purpose and said, “I love my job. Even though it’s a dirty job, it’s hard lifting big bags, I’m happy.”

The team sees their project taking years to complete, but hopes that one day their operations will no longer be needed. “With all the problems in the world, we want to solve this problem and then we can see how we are going to adapt afterwards, but I think we will need a few more years and we need the help of everyone, actually, because this problem affects…not only the environment. In the end it affects us. And I think that’s also what is not really clear sometimes, that in the end we are getting the trash back on us,” said Plaster.

While their work can seem unending, they remain hopeful for the future. “This kind of thing takes time, especially for the old generation, but now I think we can start with the kids. Sometimes kids can influence or motivate their parents. It’s time for GenZ to step up!” said Hong Ki Bura. Jacky Plaster encourages anyone with an interest in protecting our environment to get involved, “You can join in cleanups, you can support us financially, you can support us with technical equipment, and we can also exchange [information] about the topic itself. So everyone who loves to be a part of it can be a part of it and, yeah, we’re looking forward to hear from you.”