That began to change when I met Linda. Linda showed me the power of living by example, of self-care; and how a gentle, modest, patient approach offered better long-term effects (and fewer side-effects) than grand schemes. Linda passed away in 2018 and I have dedicated my life to continuing along the path that she started me on. This path wrapped around the Earth and carried me from Salt Spring Island to Phnom Penh, where I have been living for the past year.
Phnom Penh is a vibrant city, bustling with activity, arts, business, development, and thriving from an endless mingling of different cultures – but too much human activity has threatened the natural order. There used to be two substantial lakes in PP, but they were filled in to make more land for real estate. There used to be jungle forests and fauna throughout and around the city, but alas, there is not even one single natural refuge left. When the monsoon rains arrive, there are few natural reservoirs for the water to flow into, and many areas of the city are flooded.
The surge in water levels would be tolerable, but the ongoing surge in garbage and refuse weighs on my heart and disturbs my conscience. The average Cambodian uses eight plastic bags per day, many buy a convenient meal in a take-away styrofoam container once, twice, or three times per day, and every ice-cold drink comes in a plastic cup, with a plastic straw, in a plastic bag so its easy to hang on to while driving a motorbike through traffic. Giant piles of garbage on the side of the road are a commonality, and hardly anyone seems bothered by the sight or the stench.
Every week when my partner and I go to the market we bring our cloth shopping bags, dozens of plastic bags we've washed to reuse, a cardboard egg carton, a rice bag, an empty milk bottle, and a locking-lid tupperware container.
We get our fruits and vegetables and put them into the plastic bags. We go to the same lady in the market every week and put ten eggs in our egg carton. We fill our rice bag from the same place, there's always a great big smile when the vendors see us coming. One kilo's worth of freshly-made coconut milk fits perfectly in our milk bottle – so we wash and reuse the same one every time. We buy one kilo of either fish or meat each week, and that goes into the locking-lid tupperware container. We stop by a local bakery and buy a loaf of bread. It comes in a plastic bag, which we will reuse.
When we cook, we have a bowl on the counter where we put all of our food scraps – which we compost directly in our flower pots. Often things grow out of our compost, my partner and I have had to put dozens of baby mango, papaya, and other fruit trees up for adoption because we don't have enough space for them to grow! Right now we have an incredible pumpkin plant crawling up and over our little garden.
If we have leftover meat or fish we put it in a little dish for the street dogs/cats.
Any bags that rip or are too small to reuse (like packages of instant noodles) go in a bag destined for a Cambodian organization making “Eco Bricks” from un-recyclable plastic (find them online @khecobricks).
If I see a plastic bottle or a plastic cup in the garbage, I take it out, rinse it, and put it out for the plastic street collectors. They collect hard plastic for recycling and sell it to recycling plants for $0.10 per kilo.
There's only one glass recycling plant in Cambodia and it is in Siem Reap, about a 5 hour drive from PP. A local restaurant (Farm to Table) collects glass for recycling, so we put aside all of our bottles and schlep them over once we have a full bag.
If something around the house breaks – we do our best to repair it. When we “need” something, we try to create it on our own because its fun to invent using random stuff around the house.
There are organizations in PP that accept second-hand clothing for poor communities, and I belong to a facebook group for “free-cycling” (giving things away) called Phnom Penh Minimalist and Freecycle (perfect for when I bought a half-kilo of yeast and couldn't possibly use it all).
We buy all of our soap, shampoo, dish soap, laundry detergent, and household cleaners from a local store (Dai Khmer) that employees local women to make all of these products with natural ingredients and sell them in bulk, again we bring our own containers to refill. This store also accepts empty glass jars with lids for other customers to reuse.
Rather than spend time at malls or spend money on lavish pleasures, we spend out time at home, taking care of ourselves, our home, our garden and enjoying simple joys like playing music, yoga, reading, napping, whistling, singing, and watching movies. By living simply and spending less, we are able to pay all of our bills without working long hours.
Being the change I want to see in the world while living in Cambodia isn't terribly difficult, its just a bit lonely. For all of our efforts, we've reduced the garbage in Phnom Penh less than one drop. I hope to share my story to help more people understand how easy it is to reduce waste. Once its a habit, its so simple. The hard part is changing one's mentality from “what is easiest, cheapest and fastest for me?” to “how can I have a fulfilling life without unnecessarily burdening my planet?”
I can only dream of how the piles of garbage would disappear if more people composted, reused plastic bags and containers, separated their recyclables, had a designated bag for “Eco Brick” materials, purchased in bulk, and repaired or donated broken and unwanted items. I can only dream of how much happier everyone would be if they worked less, spent less money, and therefore had more time to enjoy the simple joys in life.
I can only dream ~ and be the change I wish to see in the world.
Thank you for reading!