The transport and public works secretary insists that using construction and incinerator waste to build an artificial island is the only way to solve the issue of Macao’s bursting landfill.
Speaking to local media, Raimundo do Rosário said that the city’s only construction waste landfill in Cotai was almost full. A new dumpsite must also be found for fly ash from the solid waste incinerator in Pac On.
The government says it wants to use the waste as infill for an artificial island just off the coast of Hac Sa Beach – one of the territory’s most scenic areas. To gain support, it has termed the project an “ecological island” and says the site will eventually be used for leisure activities.
[See more: ‘We will not dump solid waste into the sea,’ the government says]
From Malta to Japan, the idea of using construction waste to build islands is not new and is advanced by some as an acceptable reuse of the huge amounts of waste generated by the building sector. Construction waste is being used in Hong Kong’s huge Lantau reclamation project and will also form part of the 2025 World Expo site in Osaka Bay.
However, local environmentalists are objecting to the plan, saying that it will cause even more damage to the habitat of the endangered Chinese white dolphin.
According to an earlier study commissioned by the Municipal Affairs Bureau, and seen by TDM, Macao’s “entire marine area” is critical for the survival of the dolphins and that a sanctuary of more than 30 square kilometres is needed.
