• Society

Volunteer Team Wages War on City Trash

• By Te Chhaysinh
• July 31, 2023 10:52 AM

PHNOM PENH – Hem Sophem started clearing trash from around his school in his second year.  After a few weeks he started getting volunteers to help him.

The project has grown into a volunteer team called Nisset Plastic which collects trash from public places, attracting helpers from Cambodia and around the world.

It’s been more than a year since Nisset Plastic started its mission to keep Phnom Penh clean, to be a role model for youth, and to change people’s behavior. Sophem and his team collect trash four to eight times a month.

There are challenges. It requires getting into dirty water, which he said might affect his health, but he was committed to seeing the city clean.

He said that to stop littering, people need to adopt a more altruistic mindset. If people only care about their own interests, they will dump their trash into canals without thinking that it also belongs to them and others.

He has gained support from the public and the government. Many foreigners staying in Cambodia also volunteer. Others fly in to join him from countries such as Ukraine, Nepal, Korea and the US.

Hem Sophem started clearing trash from around his school in his second year. Photo provided by Hem Sophem

A few fly from Japan once a month to join him to clean the city and to help as role models.

“They love Cambodia, and they want us to love our country as they do,” he said.

He is happy to get the help but is embarrassed that people from other nations are cleaning up garbage in our country.

“We throw away trash but people from other countries come to collect it,”  he said.

He is unsure about how long Nisset Plastic can continue but he and his volunteer team would do their best to continue for as long as they can. If he is no longer able, other people will carry on without him.

Sophem and his team collect trash four to eight times a month. Photo provided by Hem Sophem