Cambodia charts path to Circular Plastic Economy with New National Roadmap

CAMBODIA. Khmer Times (20 January 2026) - Cambodia on Tuesday launched a national Plastic Action Roadmap aimed at reducing plastic pollution and accelerating the country’s transition to a circular economy, as the government and international partners step up efforts to improve waste management, curb single-use plastics and unlock new green growth opportunities.

Titled “Journey Towards a Circular Plastic Economy”, the roadmap is the result of a collaborative effort coordinated by the Ministry of Environment and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) under the Global Plastic Action Partnerships (GPAP) — the world’s largest multistakeholder initiative on plastic pollution, spanning 25 country partnerships and hosted by the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Cambodia joined GPAP in 2023 and established the National Plastic Action Partnership (NPAP) as a platform to bring together various actors across the plastics value chain to accelerate the transition to a circular plastics economy.

The initiative developed a baseline assessment of plastic generation and waste flows for five key plastic types, estimating that in 2022 Cambodia generated 546,000 tonnes of plastic waste, averaging 33kg per person per year — exceeding the per capita plastic waste generation of lower-middle-income countries in the same year. It also found that while the urban waste collection rate stood at 70%, the national average was only slightly above 50%, largely due to accessibility and infrastructure challenges in rural areas.

Enrico Gaveglia, UNDP Resident Representative in Cambodia, said: “The roadmap fills an important gap in our understanding of plastic waste generation and flows in Cambodia and presents an opportunity to improve waste management, reduce the consumption of single-use plastic items, and capture the value of recyclable and biodegradable materials, contributing to Cambodia’s transition to a circular economy.”

The roadmap acknowledges the invaluable role of informal workers in the plastics value chain and outlines key upstream and downstream opportunities, with concrete actions to reduce plastic volumes, increase circularity and curb pollution that threatens the health of people and ecosystems.

It presents a system change scenario by 2040, projecting a 74% reduction in plastic pollution, a 40% reduction in associated greenhouse gas emissions, and an estimated 37% cost saving for the government, alongside the creation of 26,000 new jobs compared with a business-as-usual scenario.

The roadmap is complemented by a dedicated Gender Equity and Social Inclusion analysis examining how plastic pollution affects marginalised communities and identifying solutions from which they would benefit most.

Clémence Schmid, Director of the Global Plastic Action Partnership at the World Economic Forum, said: “This roadmap is an inclusive, evidence-based and collaborative effort led by the Ministry of Environment. It sets out a clear national strategy to reduce plastic pollution and increase circularity to 52% by 2040. This transition is more than an environmental goal — it is a development opportunity that can create jobs, drive innovation and strengthen Cambodia’s economic resilience.”

Minister of Environment Eang Sophalleth said the plan is strategically aligned with the CLEAN pillar of the country’s Circular Strategy on Environment 2023–2028, ensuring that plastic reduction efforts are integrated into national environmental modernisation goals.

“The core vision is to abandon the traditional ‘take–make–dispose’ linear model and shift to a circular system where plastics remain within the economy and out of the environment,” he said.

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