Hac Sa Beach Unmasked

To millions of tourists, Hac Sa Beach is a beautiful and exotic destination, but for those that visit the beach in the early hours of the morning the sights are very different. Each morning beach clean-up crews walk the length of Hac Sa with a large bulldozer vacuum to remove all of the trash that washes up on the sand. Massive amounts of Styrofoam, plastic, clothing, and shoes accumulate at Hac Sa at an unsettling rate.
As I watch tourists swimming in the water in the afternoon, I have a growing concern for the level of pollution that they might ingest. In the two years that I have lived in Coloane, I cannot tell if the amount of trash on the shores of Hac Sa has increased, but it collects at a consistent rate that is alarming.
After storms, the trash levels are noticeably higher which makes sense due to the churning ocean, but perhaps the daily accumulation should not be ignored. Is the trash coming from the Pearl River Delta of the Guangdong Province in mainland China or is it possible that the trash is coming from inside Macau?
Last year, concerned citizens and activists in Macau participated in the global initiative, “Plastic Free July”. Since 2011, people all over the world have joined the movement created by the Earth Carers Waste Education team at the Western Metropolitan Regional Council in Western Australia choosing to refuse to use single-use plastic during the month of July. It doesn’t seem like the campaign has been publicized in Macau this year, but perhaps it might be a good idea to consider some advocacy to decrease the pollution at our beaches in the future.
Plastic is used in excessive and extraneous rates here in Macau. Bananas are wrapped in cling-film, take-away drinks are placed in a bag, and all carry-out containers are made of plastic material. Even if trash is disposed of properly, what are we doing to decrease our carbon footprint in our country?
The Macau authorities do a great job with trash removal once it hits Hac Sa Beach, but I wonder if there is a viable method of catching the garbage before it hits our shores and if alternatives are cost effective? The effect of storms is much greater than just inclement weather and the long-term cost to our beautiful beaches is something to consider. In the meantime, we should consider Hac Sa Beach unmasked.