Twice a day, sirens sound at Cambodia’s Chip Mong Insee cement kiln, warning limestone will soon be blasted from the karst mountain that overlooks the sprawling industrial site. White smoke billows from its silver chimney, visible only at night against the dark sky, and dust coats much of the surrounding area, where residents complain of persistent respiratory illnesses that arrived along with the kiln. Aerial picture taken on 9 January 2025 of the Chip Mong Insee cement factory in Kampot province. © Suy Se / AFP The plant might seem an unlikely poster child for the fight against plastic pollution, but cement kilns are central to the burgeoning plastic credits sector, where buyers pay for the collection and disposal of plastic waste. Credits are meant to tackle the scourge of
