Slaprea, Cambodia’s Biggest Food Festival, is set to take place this weekend on May 19, 20, and 21 at the National Olympic Stadium. With an expected 100,000 festival-goers and over 100 vendors participating, the festival will offer a wide variety of tastes and flavors to cater to Phnom Penh’s food enthusiasts.
Since its launch in 2017, Slaprea has aimed to eliminate single-use plastics at the festival. In 2023, this long-standing dream will finally come true. This year, Slaprea has partnered with Grab Food to provide 100,000 biodegradable bowls, plates, and spoons, along with recyclable PET plastic cups, to all its vendors.
This joint initiative aims to raise public awareness of the importance of ceasing single-use plastic and styrofoam usage. Slaprea believes that while they can’t achieve a 100% plastic-free event, every small step counts toward building a sustainable food system.
“Grab recently announced a Zero Waste in Nature by 2040 target, and being able to support the use of sustainable solutions for food packaging is an example of our commitment in this area. The sourcing process highlighted how this is a challenging task, and so we have had to weigh the pros and cons of different materials. For example, we stuck with PET plastic cups that we can ensure will be recycled, instead of using paper cups which, while seemingly more eco-friendly, cannot be recycled as they are lined with plastic and will end up in the landfill,” explains Corentin Rouxel, Head of Expansion Region of Grab Cambodia.
Slaprea’s partnership with Grab is a first of its kind.
“This is what Slaprea has always been all about. We’re glad to have reached this milestone, we’re excited to have such great partners, and we look forward to the coming years and what we can all achieve together for a more sustainable future,” says Buddhisatt Suon, co-manager of Slaprea 2022 and 2023.
This year’s Slaprea is brought to you by Ganzberg Beer, Slaprea’s co-organizing sponsor, perfectly pairing with the diverse flavors found throughout the festival.
Slaprea is a festival welcoming all to taste new flavors, experience new cuisines, engage in fun activities for all ages in a beautiful community setting, while minimizing environmental impact and becoming one of the safest food events in Asia. Be sure to stop by May 19, 20, and 21 from 4 PM to 9 PM at the National Olympic Stadium.
