DSPA reports higher recycling efficiency in high-rise buildings

Recycling efficiency in high-rise buildings is far more significant than recycling in public streets, according to Chan Kwok Ho, Chief of the Environmental Protection Bureau’s (DSPA) Environmental Infrastructure Management Center.
Yesterday, the DSPA led a media tour of the local government’s recycling treatment facilities to demonstrate how the authority handles recycled materials.
On the sidelines of the visit, Chan spoke to the media regarding Macau’s current recycling situation.
According to Chan, only 20% to 30% of the recycling waste collected from the recycling bins on the public streets is reusable. The percentage goes up to 50% to 60% in terms of recycling efficiency at high-rise buildings, where there are DSPA recycling bins.
The rest of the materials collected from the recycling bins remains unrecycled.
The bureau recently put stickers on recycling bins to help members of the public distinguish between the various classifications of trash.
As of today, over 750 high-rise buildings are members of the DSPA’s building recycling program, and the DSPA provides large-sized recycling bins for these buildings.
In addition, the DSPA has been expanding effort on education regarding recycling, including educational campaigns in local schools.
The environmental protection authority organizes annual seminars in local schools aiming to educate young children about recycling. In turn, the children can bring the concept of recycling home.
Between January and November of this year, the DSPA recycled 293,000 kgs of paper, 63,000 kgs of plastic, and 40,000 kgs of metal. The recycled items were mostly transported to ainland China and other countries in Southeast Asia.
The Macau SAR government will ban the importation of styrofoam food containers starting from January 1 next year.
“Single use food containers, single use bowls and cups, single use plates, all made with styrofoam, are the target of this ban,” according to a Chief Executive Decree recently published in the Official Gazette.
According to Chan, the recycling of styrofoam requires a complex process and Macau currently does not have a recycling network to handle styrofoam recycling.