Our Desk | When recycling is just an option

Lynzy Valles

I was at the coastal cleanup activity at the beach next to Tam Kong Temple on Sunday when, to my surprise, I witnessed around 60 volunteers at the site. The area was just filled with plastic bottles, styrofoam boxes and other “little things” that all came in different sizes, not to mention the unpleasant smell.
Somehow, I felt I shouldn’t be surprised, but seeing those people at the site made me think that the high number of volunteers was, perhaps, surprising even to the organizers.
The activity only shows that there are several “hidden” places in the city that need an environmental cleanup.
As the city continues to promote a “greener” Macau, the Environmental Protection Bureau (DSPA) has organized its annual lucky draw, called “Green Points,” for the fourth consecutive time.
The scheme encourages the public to bring their own eco-friendly bags. In return, they are entitled to join the lucky draw. Winners get sets of grocery coupons worth up to MOP2,000, as the Times reported.
Honestly, I hadn’t heard of the scheme, and they were actually doing it for the fourth time! On another note, how are they even promoting this?
As much as they want to raise awareness among the locals about practicing environmentally-friendly acts such as reusing and recycling, I think it will not be effective until the city fully implements waste segregation in households.
There are quite a number of recycling bins in the city, especially in downtown areas. However, how will citizens take this call to action seriously if they are not obliged to practice this in their homes?
The region has launched several campaigns to raise awareness of this issue, but have residents changed their lifestyles? Probably not.
Yes, raising awareness is important, but we have to be reminded that it will not do much in helping Macau become a green city.
Our consumption habits have increased and we produce a growing amount of waste. Making people aware of this issue by holding a lucky draw is flawed, in my opinion.
Only when we are educated about separating waste in our homes, workplaces or schools, will it be more effective for the public to practice environmentally-friendly acts.
According to an MDT report several months ago, Secretary for Public Works and Transport, Raimundo do Rosário, claimed “separation of waste is much more a matter of educating society, and not about forcing them to comply with a law.”
According to this statement then, if the residents were well informed on this issue, they would be more conscious about how they use and dispose items. The “Green Points” scheme would then just be a bonus to the population, not an award for doing something we really ought to do.
On the contrary, I think Macau lacks the system to segregate public waste. I believe they are keen on setting up recycling programmes, yet they have failed to come up with a feasible or effective solution.
In Hong Kong, the “Program on Source Separation of Domestic Waste” was launched over a decade ago. The region understood that landfills are running out of space, so the city had to reduce its waste.
Hong Kong has been successful in launching the program wherein the neighboring city’s authories assist property management companies by providing waste separation facilities on each building floor.
The management companies then sell the recyclable items on to recyclers, hence allowing them to make extra earnings.
This shows that Macau still has so much to do in terms of recycling waste. The city has a long way to go before it achieves its aim of “developing recycling habits for productive green living.”
The population might already be waiting for the government to develop systems that would make recycling convenient and perhaps even attractive.