Macao’s population generated 2.1 kilograms of municipal solid waste per person per day in 2024, a 4 percent year-on-year increase, according to the Environmental Protection Bureau’s latest Report on the State of Macao’s Environment.
The figure nears the pre-Covid-19 pandemic figure of 2.22 kilograms daily. Per person solid waste fell to 1.74 kilograms a day in 2020, during the first year of the pandemic, but rebounded to a daily 2.02 kilograms after restrictions were lifted in 2023. The report attributes the post pandemic rise to “the resumption of social and economic activities.”
The bulk of municipal solid waste generated in 2024 was made up of organic matter (32.3 percent), paper and cardboard (24.3 percent), plastic (24 percent). Compared to 2023’s figures, paper and cardboard made up a significantly higher proportion of rubbish.
[See more: On World Environment Day, here are five things you can do in Macao to help the Earth]
Macao’s waste recovery rate for recycling what people throw away was 21.7 percent last year, a slight decrease from 2023. The SAR has had an uneven record on recycling: over the past ten years, 2021 and 2017 saw the highest rates – 24.5 percent and 24.3 percent respectively – while the lowest rate was recorded in 2019, at 17.5 percent.
Almost 40 percent of Macao residents rarely recycle or don’t recycle at all, according to a survey by the General Union of Neighbourhood Associations last year.
Meanwhile, the amount of construction waste generated in 2024 was up by 13.5 percent year-on-year, attributed to a large increase in sea mud created by dredging. Abandoned vehicles also increased significantly – by 22.2 percent – last year when compared with 2023.
