Our Desk | Raising our recycling game

Catarina Pinto

The latest environmental figures released by the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) unveiled higher population density and fewer ‘good’ air quality days. Greater water consumption and waste were also recorded.
Meanwhile, a recent survey released by Macau’s Environmental Protection Bureau (DSPA) showed that residents still lack a sense of responsibility and determination to adopt green practices.
In fact, the survey, which has been carried out since 2010, shows that citizens’ environmental awareness has continued growing slightly, remaining at a middle to upper level of above 2.5 points out of a scale of 5. But over the past two years, a continued decline has been recorded in the public’s sense of environmental responsibility, while their practice of environmental protection has similarly started to drop.
A report by newspaper Ponto Final, published in March, speaks of a particular crucial environmental matter: recycling. According to DSPA, this is still a major challenge, as residents’ willingness to separate household waste is still low.
DSPA added that there’s still a long way to go to raise awareness over recycling.
Our individual actions in favor of environmental protection are key and could help turn Macau into a greener city. But people need to be reminded constantly. And that’s the government’s role too. There’s a need to implement higher environmental protection standards and goals.
Although it seems unlikely that a mandatory waste sorting and recycling system will be implemented here any time soon, further measures to encourage residents to sort household waste for recycling should definitely be put in place.
DSPA has a “Green Points” scheme that can award supermarket vouchers in exchange for a specific quantity of plastic bottles or paper.
Incentives schemes work and should be implemented. But I dare say that many in Macau are still unaware that these schemes exist. Also, judging by the website’s Portuguese version, it is not very clear how the program works.
That’s where further communications campaigns targeting a wider audience could truly make a difference.
Having previously lived in a country where waste sorting was mandatory, and irregular separation of household waste could result in fines, I find myself in Macau unable or – at least – facing challenges to separate household waste and deposit it in recycling bins.
With many buildings having their own waste collection and disposal systems and finding it difficult to find nearby recycling bins, the recycling I do is pretty much close to zero.
Countries like Belgium have a rather specific and unconventional way of managing, collecting and disposing of waste. Separating household waste is not an option, but an obligation. Residents are required to buy specific garbage bags, available at all supermarkets, and separate waste accordingly. The bags are then disposed in front of the buildings (obviously these are not buildings accommodating as many residents as in Macau) and these are then collected by garbage trucks.
Its waste disposal system has drawn criticism for being unsightly but according to news website Eur-­Activ it is considered relative disposal “paradise” among experts.
It might not be the perfect system but at the least allows the country to recycle about 57 percent of its municipal waste, according to last year’s figures.
Requiring citizens to distribute their waste between different garbage bags for recycling implies providing them with a necessary collecting structure.
Indeed, educating and raising awareness is important but I believe the government should take a stronger stance here, by launching widespread communication campaigns, installing more recycling bins, and by setting out higher environmental standards. We can’t afford to wait for people to be environmentally aware.