Environment | Volunteers take part in coastal cleanup efforts

Nearly 150 volunteers participated in the Macau Coastal Cleanup Activity; filling 43 plastic bags with 290kg of sea trash in response to the World Environment Day, which is celebrated every June 5.
The event was organized by Green Future, the University of Saint Joseph (USJ) and the Macau Polytechnic Institute (IPM), institutions which teamed up with several non-governmental organizations in Macau, Hong Kong and mainland China to consolidate a Pearl River Delta-wide coastal cleanup event.
According to Green Future, some 1,000 volunteers in 17 Chinese coastal cities including Shanghai, Shenzhen and Xiamen cleaned up more than 40 beaches.
Meanwhile in Macau, beaches next to Ocean Garden, Tam Kong Temple and across from Lord Stow’s bakery were filled with volunteers yesterday as they carried out the cleanup activity.
Karen Tagulao, a senior professor from the Institute of Science and Environment at USJ, was a “site leader” at the beach next to Tam Kong Temple. According to her, several beaches in the city are not paid much attention.
The scholar said that their ultimate objective is to raise awareness amongst the local community about the litter problem in Macau. “We want people to be more conscious about their environment, their lifestyle and how they use their resources when they buy […] and consume things,” she emphasized.
Tagulao stressed that the city has a culture of “da bao” (take-­away boxes), thus she implied that volunteers would be reminded about their excessive use of plastics and styrofoam boxes. Although she admitted the activity is not a solution to the problem, she hoped that volunteers and residents would be more conscious about the source of waste and thus reflect on their own lifestyles.
The professor claimed that wastes found along the beaches are not just from Macau, as the city is located in the mouth of the Pearl River Delta.
Green Future reported that the most common items of garbage found were plastic bottles, earthenware and other household items.
The data concluded that 3,136 plastic bottles, 2,595 plastic and styrofoam packing materials and 1,360 disposable lunch boxes were picked up in the three regions.
Organizers also disposed of 395 food packaging items and 247 plastic bags; and urged the public to reuse packaging materials.
Also taking part in the event, the president of Green Future, Un Ka Hou, said that the beach site nearby Tam Kong Temple only attracted a few residents and visitors. However a massive amount of waste was found at the site. He claimed that fewer people visit the area as it tends to be the least concerned zone.
“We want the volunteers to understand what kind of rubbish humans make everyday,” he said, hoping that the volunteers would spread the idea to the residents of the community.
Moreover, in the opening ceremony of the activity yesterday in Hong Kong, vice president of Green Future Joe Chan recalled that Macau used to be famous for producing oysters.
“We could find seven to eight kinds of shells before and sometimes we could even see white dolphins and big jellyfishes,” he said. “Now, people treat seas and rivers as unlimited landfills, the sea regions around Macau have been heavily polluted.” He stressed that beaches in the city have been replaced by bags of sea trash that becomes more complex as science and technology improves. Staff reporter

DSPA celebrates World Environment Day 2016

The Environmental Protection Bureau (DSPA) marked the World Environment Day 2016 at Sintra Square, where several games stands and environmental protection workshops were held in hopes of spreading the environmental protection message to participants.
The bureau took advantage of the World Environment Day to promote a series of environmental protection initiatives and with “developing recycling habits for productive green living” as its theme, the program featured various activities including performances and several award ceremonies.
The bureau also continually encouraged the public to practice environmentally friendly acts in everyday life and recommended citizens apply several mottos including “we value food,” “reduce waste starting at home,” and “let’s participate in the Eco Tour.”
The director of DSPA, Raymond Tam, said in his speech that the original intention of the event is a starting point to raise awareness amongst the population about environmental protection, and ecological life. With the “reduction of waste from the source” as a goal, the event will hopefully lead the population to continue to practice the acts they learned during the event in the future.
To encourage the population to bring their own shopping bags and reduce the use of plastic bags, DSPA organized its fourth consecutive annual prize draw activity related to the reduction of the use of plastic bags.
Between June 1 and August 31, citizens who own an ecological bag and do not require a plastic bag are entitled to participate in the lucky draw by dropping a stamped receipt in the store’s ballot.
Prizes include five sets of MOP2000 grocery coupons, ten sets of MOP500 grocery vouchers and 400 prepaid cards with a balance of MOP100 each.