Over the last decades, Cambodia has experienced rapid growth of its population and economy, which led the surge in plastic waste. In Phnom Penh, plastic waste now amounts to more than 20% of the total volume of municipal waste (3,600 tons) generated per day, adding immense pressure on waste management and natural environment.
Plastic waste pollution is highly damaging in terms of environmental, economic and public health impacts. In urban areas, illegally dumped plastic waste blocks waterways, clogs sewage and drainage systems, and elevates flood risks. In areas without waste collection services, plastic waste is often burned in the open or disposed at on streets, or into local waterways, which carry it to the sea. The burning of plastics releases harmful chemicals which pose risk to public health. In coastal areas, the impact of plastic waste to the tourism industry is particularly significant. Plastic waste (e.g. cigarettes, plastic food wrappers and bags) makes up 80% of the debris found on its beaches, deteriorating coastal areas’ natural environment, marine ecosystems, and scenery.
According to the MoE (2015), out of the 4 million ton of solid waste generated, 63 % is collected while 29 % is illegally dumped or burned. At present, less than 1% of plastic waste is formally recycled due to limited infrastructure, technology, or finances. Around 8 % is collected informally by informal waste pickers who gather waste from landfills or streets and sell recovered valuables to intermediary persons, usually exported to Thailand or Vietnam for recycling. Recently, these countries announced that they would soon ban plastic waste imports.
Thus, there is an urgent need to reduce the volume of plastic waste and to create an environment where waste is properly managed, recycled and recovered.
- Category:
Consultancy, Resources & Environment, Engineer - Civil, Engineering
-
Type :
Job Opportunity
- Location:
Phnom Penh
- Schedule: Full-time
- Salary:
N/A
Cluster/Project: Combatting Marine Plastic Litter Project/GDEP
Post Level: Specialist
Contract Type: Individual Contractor (IC)
Expected Place of Travel: NA
Contract Duration: 80 days per year expected from Sept 2021 to 31 March 2021 for plastic recycling
Institutional Arrangement
Roles of the consultant under the Marine Plastic project
- The consultant shall work closely with international consultant(s) assigned under the project
- The consultant shall work under the General Directorate of Environmental Protection (GDEP) (Solid Waste Management) of the Ministry of Environment
- The consultant shall report on/submit the above deliverables to the GDEP
Roles of MoE and NCSD
- The GDEP, MoE will supervise the consultant for the nature of work and work plans related to plastic management regulations
- The GDEP will review deliverables for payment release
Duration of the Work
The initial assignment is up to 80 days from 10 Sept 2021 to 31 March 2022 with possible of extension based on the needs and satisfactory performance of the consultant. The proposed daily rate remains valid for up to three years.
Duty Station
The duty stations for this assignment is primarily home based. If travels are required, DSA, and all other related actual costs (etc. local travels) will be covered by the MoE, prior to agreement made prior to each assignment taking place.
Scope of Work
To support these ongoing government’s efforts, in January 2021, the “Combatting Marine Plastic Litter (Marine Plastic)” project was initiated with funding support from Japan.
The national Plastic Management Specialist is to work with international consultant(s) to provide technical assistance to the Marine Plastic project team for the following sets of activities related to market assessment, and development of strategies and measures to promote alternatives and plastic recycling (linked to the project activity 4.1):
- In consultation with the MoE/NCSD, conduct a market assessment of plastic recycling
- Collect data on current supply and demand volumes for waste plastics, including from imports and exports; review the state of plastic recycling in practice;
- Identify types and volume of plastic waste that can be targeted for plastic recycling;
- Identify design, technologies and scales of plastic recycling used in other countries and identify ones which are applicable for Cambodia;
- Devise strategies to increase recycling capacity of target products (waste segregation, deposit and take back schemes, engagement of informal waste pickers); and
- Assess market development potential for recycled secondary raw materials and identify enabling measures
- Identify enabling actions and measures (regulatory, fiscal and logistic measures)
- Extended producer responsibility;
- Product design for recycling;
- Recycling and/or end of life options;
- Education and awareness;
- Segregation at source;
- Product fees for single use plastics;
- Harmonization of licenses and fees for waste collectors and recyclers;
- Tax incentives for increased recycling and alternatives
- Identify up to 5 business models for plastic recycling
- Background research and feasibility assessments of plastic recycling technologies, equipment and business models applicable for Cambodia
- Provision of technical support for piloting identified priority business models
- Provision of technical inputs to refine plastic recycling business models for replication and scaling up
- Provision of technical support for developing enabling regulatory measures (linked to the activity 1.1 and 1.2)
- Development of PowerPoint presentation(s) and report(s) to present key findings for consultations and comments
- Development of agenda, PPTs and talking points for consultation meetings and compilation of comments received from stakeholders
- Incorporation of comments into updated draft(s)
Requirements
- Education:
- Master’s degree in Environmental Engineering, Environmental Science, Environmental Management, Civil/Mechanical/Process Engineering, Environmental Law or related field.
- Experience:
- At least 7 years of relevant professional experience related to environmental regulations, and sustainable management of resources and waste. Prior experience working with the Ministry of Environment and the National Council for Sustainable Development (NCSD) is an asset.
- Competencies:
- Robust track record in conducting analytical work and development of legislation, strategies, or policies in the waste management field. Specific knowledge related to single-use plastic, plastic recycling and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is a plus
- Excellent analytical and writing skills including the ability to communicate policy recommendations in a succinct and clear manner
- Language Requirement:
- Khmer and English
- Category:
Consultancy, Resources & Environment, Engineer - Civil, Law
-
Type :
Job Opportunity
- Location:
Phnom Penh
- Schedule: Full-time
- Salary:
N/A
Cluster/Project: Combatting Marine Plastic Litter Project/GDEP
Post Level: Specialist
Contract Type: Individual Contractor (IC)
Expected Place of Travel: NA
Contract Duration: 87days expected from September 2021 to 30 April 2021 for the development of a sub-decree
Institutional Arrangement
Roles of the consultant under the Marine Plastic project
- The consultant shall work closely with international consultant(s) assigned under the project
- The consultant shall work under the General Directorate of Environmental Protection (GDEP) (Solid Waste
- Management) of the Ministry of Environment
- The consultant shall report on/submit the above deliverables to the GDEP
Roles of MoE and NCSD
- The GDEP, MoE will supervise the consultant for the nature of work and work plans related to plastic management regulations
- The GDEP will review deliverables for payment release
Duration of the Work
The initial assignment is up to 87 days from September 2021 to 30 April 2021 with possible of extension based on the needs and satisfactory performance of the consultant. The proposed daily rate remains valid for up to three years.
Duty Station
The duty stations for this assignment is primarily home based. If travels are required, DSA, and all other related actual costs (etc. local travels) will be covered by the MoE, prior to agreement made prior to each assignment taking place.
Scope of Work
The national Plastic Management Specialist is to work with international consultant(s) to provide technical assistance to the Marine Plastic project team for the following sets of activities related to the development of new regulatory measures:
Development of new regulation(s) related to plastic management (linked to the project activity 1.2): See Box 1 for a proposed structure of the new plastic regulation. (Should be propose a No Plastic Zone and develop a declaration for reducing plastic waste).
- Main body of the sub-decree - refers to overall “Plastic Management” including
- Definitions of key terms o Purposes of the sub-decree
- Key institutions and their roles in the sub-decree implementation
- Guidance on import, production and distribution sales, use and consumption o Plastic waste management including, sorting, collection and recycling
- Establishment of single-use free zones
- Law enforcement mechanisms including fines
- Proposed set of Annexes (subject to changes after further deliberations)
- Economic measures: e.g. increased taxes along with a list of items including Single-use Plastic (SUPs):
- Bans and regulations for SUPs: list of items to be subject to short-, medium- and long-term measures
- Priorities are given to ones which already have alternatives
- Special considerations are given to wet markets and poor
- Plastic recycling incentives (subsidies, tax breaks) for manufacturing for plastic recycling companies (e.g. import tax exemption for equipment, tax breaks for production). Measures are to be discussed with the MoE and the General Department of Tax and Revenues
- Future ordinance (e.g. plastic materials with hazardous substances including E-waste, computers, wires and construction materials, plastic for agriculture use, plastic from vehicles)
- Final disposal of plastic waste-plastic waste (including disposals from air crafts, ships)
Requirements
- Education:
- Master’s degree in Environmental Engineering, Environmental Science, Environmental Management, Civil/Mechanical/Process Engineering, Environmental Law or related field.
- Experience:
- At least 7 years of relevant professional experience related to environmental regulations, and sustainable management of resources and waste. Prior experience working with the Ministry of Environment and the National Council for Sustainable Development (NCSD) is an asset.
- Competencies:
- Robust track record in conducting analytical work and development of legislation, strategies, or policies in the waste management field. Specific knowledge related Page 5 of 5 to single-use plastic, plastic recycling and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is a plus
- Excellent analytical and writing skills including the ability to communicate policy recommendations in a succinct and clear manner
- Language Requirement:
- Khmer and English
