Friday, 24 April 2009

Stung Meanchey waste to become methane gas, electricity: City Hall

Photo by: THOMAS GAM NEILSEN
Children collect waste at the Stung Meanchy dump.


The Phnom Penh Post
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/


Written by Mom Kunthear
Thursday, 23 April 2009

German company gets contract to convert the dump site's waste into methane, starting in July.

CITY Hall on April 13 approved a German company's proposal to convert waste at the soon-to-be-closed Stung Meanchey dumpsite into methane gas.

The nototious 6.5-hectare dumpsite will be moved to the Cheung Ek area, located 15 kilometres outside the capital, at the end of May. Phnom Penh Governor Kep Chuktema said the German company, International Environmental Consulting Company (IECC), will likely begin processing waste from Stung Meanchey in July.

According to IECC representative Detlef Gutjahr, methane gas taken from the dumpsite could be converted into 300 kilowatts of electricity per day, which he said would be enough to serve 3,000 Phnom Penh families.

Gutjahr said the company was committed to processing waste from the dumpsite for the next 15 years.

Kep Chuktema said the cost of the project had not yet been finalised. He said he planned to travel to Germany in May or June to sign a formal agreement with the company.

Dump chief sceptical
Svay Lorn, chief of the Stung Meanchey dumpsite, expressed some scepticism about the feasibility of the company's proposal.

"I don't believe 100 percent that the German company can change the garbage into electricity because I have not seen other countries do it, but I will be happy if our country can," he said.

He said between 1,000 and 1,100 tonnes of waste had been transported to the site each day so far this year, up from 800 to 900 last year.

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