On Lake Tonlé Sap in Cambodia, thousands of people live in floating villages: communities of houses built on stilts and adapted to the lake’s dramatic seasonal water level changes. Yet many of these communities lack access to basic waste management services.
What Are the Floating Villages?
At the heart of Cambodia, near the famous temples of Angkor Wat, lies Lake Tonlé Sap, the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia. Protected as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, it supports the livelihoods of more than 15 million people and plays a crucial role for fisheries, agriculture, and biodiversity across the region.
Along the shores of the lake are the so-called Floating Villages: communities of houses built on stilts and designed to adapt to the lake’s fluctuating water levels.
Many of these villages have little or no access to public services such as running water, electricity, or waste management infrastructure. Regular waste collection and recycling services are often unavailable. This situation is not unique to Tonlé Sap; in many low-income and rural areas across Cambodia, formal waste collection systems remain limited or absent.
As a result, waste is commonly stored in the open, burned informally, or disposed of directly in the environment.
Waste Composition and Disposal Practices
Life in the Floating Villages is strongly influenced by the seasonal changes of Lake Tonlé Sap. During the rainy season, the lake expands to approximately 13,260 km² with depths reaching up to 9 metres. During the dry season, it shrinks to around 2,215 km² and depths of only 1 to 2 metres.
These fluctuations have a significant impact on waste disposal practices.
During the rainy season:
Around 36% of plastic waste is disposed of through open dumping or informal burning.
Approximately 40% is discarded directly into the lake.
During the dry season:
Around 76% of plastic waste is openly dumped or burned.
Only 4% is disposed of directly into the lake.
A closer look at the waste composition reveals another important finding:
67% of the waste consists of plastic.
33% consists of other recyclable materials, such as metal cans.
Of the plastic waste generated, approximately 75% is recyclable, as much of it consists of PET bottles and flexible plastic packaging.
Items such as plastic cutlery and disposable cups are less common because alternative materials are often used within the villages.
Interestingly, overall plastic consumption remains relatively low. Residents generate approximately 40 grams of plastic waste per person per day. For comparison:
United States: approximately 340 g/day
China: approximately 120 g/day
Cambodia average: approximately 70 g/day
Building Infrastructure for Long-Term Impact
The findings are clear:
Most plastic waste is either openly dumped or burned.
A large share of this waste is recyclable.
Plastic pollution entering the lake significantly increases during the rainy season.
Many residents would be willing to participate in a collection and recycling system if one were available.
This highlights a key challenge: the problem is not only waste generation, but also the lack of infrastructure needed to collect, sort, and process waste responsibly. That is why everwave is establishing a new cleanup site in Siem Reap.
Through our dedicated Zero-Waste Center, collected waste can be received, sorted, and prepared for further processing and recycling directly within the region. Working together with our local team and partners, we are building a sustainable waste management system designed to create long-term environmental and social impact.
By investing in local infrastructure rather than temporary solutions alone, we aim to reduce plastic pollution, improve waste recovery, and help protect one of Southeast Asia’s most valuable ecosystems for future generations.