Macao produced over half a million tons of solid waste last year, a growth of nearly 15 percent compared to 2022, according to a statement from the Statistics and Census Service (also known by its Portuguese initials DSEC).
The rise has been attributed to the return of visitors to the city in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. The rebound in visitor numbers has also resulted in the city recording higher levels of water and electricity consumption.
Based on the total, the bureau calculated that each person in the city generated a daily average of 2.02 kilograms of garbage last year, an increase of approximately 14 percent in comparison to the 1.77 kilograms per head produced in 2022.
[See more: Macao lags behind when it comes to household recycling]
Prior to the pandemic, the amount of solid waste produced per capita in Macao was 2.22 kilograms. With the onset of Covid, however, the figure fell to 1.74 kilograms in 2020 and 1.82 kilograms in 2021.
Despite a growth in the volume of solid waste last year, DSEC pointed out that the amount of special and hazardous waste that was processed fell by 34.6 percent compared to 2022, with a figure totalling 5,401 tonnes. Meanwhile, construction waste fell by 31.8 percent, with a total of around 1.6 million cubic metres.
The figures come as Macao’s construction waste landfill reaches breaking point, prompting authorities to propose building an island from the waste off Hac Sa Beach to the dismay of environmentalists.
