The pollution of Macao’s beaches, caused by rubbish washing down from mainland China during the storm surges between April and June, is “under control” according to the head of the Marine and Water Bureau.
In a statement issued last month in response to a query from legislator Leong Sun Iok, Soi Mang Wong conceded that a significant amount of refuse had made its way into Macao and other downstream areas of the Pearl River Estuary in recent months due to the intense rainfall, as well as tides and wind.
Soi said that, in response, the bureau (known by its Portuguese initials DSAMA) dispatched staff to collect waste from the sea, while a cleaning company had been put in charge of clearing the rubbish on the beaches. Around 80 tonnes of rubbish had been collected at the end of April.
[See more: Floating refuse swamps Macao’s beaches]
However, the DSAMA did not provide any answers to Leong’s query on whether there were any plans to work with the mainland in tackling the source of the beach pollution problem, which is a long-running issue in Macao. The DSAMA stated last year that Hac Sa Beach was being buried under 4 tonnes of waste each day.
Rubbish is not the only problem plaguing Macao’s waters, as earlier this year, Hac Sa and Cheoc Van beaches had to be closed down in response to an E.coli outbreak.
However, Sio said that the DSAMA had established a cooperation and contact mechanism with the Zhuhai authorities, aimed at strengthening communications regarding environmental emergencies and facilitating the sharing of pollution data between the regions.
