Hello Francois,
Thank you for your entry. I enjoyed learning about your project. One question I have relates to the 20-litre bottles expected to hold the purified water, and be sold by entrepreneurs. What are these bottles made out of? Are they re-used? Are they recycled? If each treatment center produces 2,000-6,000 liters a day and you expect 30 production center by 2009, over the course of one year, between 1.1 million and 3.3 million water bottles are necessary to facilitate this program. Is this something that has been addressed in the program design?
Best of luck in your important work,
Cecelia Tanaka
Of course, we do not plan to spread 2 or 3 million disposable bottles a year in the Cambodian countryside ! These 20 L bottles are made with PET. They are reusable and are retrieved by the operators when delivering new ones and cleaned before refilling (using a chlorinated solution).
In fact, this is a key advantage, with regard to water quality, compared to any other process where the beneficiaries use their own containers to store water : Beneficiaries are guaranteed that the water won't be recontaminated by the container itself (since it has been properly desinfected) or by a storage in open air (since it is closed and sealed). Water quality is guaranteed up to the moment it is actually drunk!
Furthermore, PET, should the bottle be broken, can be burnt without any damage for the environment!
Thank you for your reply. Your approach to preventing the water bottles from entering Cambodia’s landfills is encouraging!
Your response spurred my curiosity into how your operators will deliver and retrieve the PET bottles from the Cambodian countryside. Is there adequate infrastructure for these processes to be achieved by motorized vehicle? Or motorbike? Or will some operators travel by bicycle to reach the more rural communities? I ask because there is a wonderful nonprofit organization in Cambodia that may be a useful resource for your work. PEPY (Protect the Earth, Protect Yourself) organizes cycling trips and educational service trips throughout Cambodia. PEPY’s tours are a combination of responsible adventure travel and service learning, which fund educational programs in Cambodia. PEPY also works in Northwest Cambodia (primarily in the Chanleas Dai Commune)!
Comments
Hello Francois,
Thank you for your entry. I enjoyed learning about your project. One question I have relates to the 20-litre bottles expected to hold the purified water, and be sold by entrepreneurs. What are these bottles made out of? Are they re-used? Are they recycled? If each treatment center produces 2,000-6,000 liters a day and you expect 30 production center by 2009, over the course of one year, between 1.1 million and 3.3 million water bottles are necessary to facilitate this program. Is this something that has been addressed in the program design?
Best of luck in your important work,
Cecelia Tanaka
Hello Cecelia,
Thank you for your interest.
Of course, we do not plan to spread 2 or 3 million disposable bottles a year in the Cambodian countryside ! These 20 L bottles are made with PET. They are reusable and are retrieved by the operators when delivering new ones and cleaned before refilling (using a chlorinated solution).
In fact, this is a key advantage, with regard to water quality, compared to any other process where the beneficiaries use their own containers to store water : Beneficiaries are guaranteed that the water won't be recontaminated by the container itself (since it has been properly desinfected) or by a storage in open air (since it is closed and sealed). Water quality is guaranteed up to the moment it is actually drunk!
Furthermore, PET, should the bottle be broken, can be burnt without any damage for the environment!
Hope this answer your question !
Best regards
François Jaquenoud
Hello again Francois!
Thank you for your reply. Your approach to preventing the water bottles from entering Cambodia’s landfills is encouraging!
Your response spurred my curiosity into how your operators will deliver and retrieve the PET bottles from the Cambodian countryside. Is there adequate infrastructure for these processes to be achieved by motorized vehicle? Or motorbike? Or will some operators travel by bicycle to reach the more rural communities? I ask because there is a wonderful nonprofit organization in Cambodia that may be a useful resource for your work. PEPY (Protect the Earth, Protect Yourself) organizes cycling trips and educational service trips throughout Cambodia. PEPY’s tours are a combination of responsible adventure travel and service learning, which fund educational programs in Cambodia. PEPY also works in Northwest Cambodia (primarily in the Chanleas Dai Commune)!
You can find them at pepyride.org.
Best of luck in your important work,
Cecelia Tanaka