WILLEMSTAD – Curaçao’s Malpais landfill has only 11 percent of its capacity remaining, while the amount of waste generated by tourists is projected to double by 2030. A new study warns that the island’s rapid tourism expansion could significantly accelerate an already serious waste-management problem.
The findings are contained in the Tourism Carrying Capacity Study, commissioned by the Curaçao Tourist Board (CTB) and the Ministry of Economic Development to examine how much tourism growth the island’s infrastructure, environment and society can sustainably accommodate.
According to the study, Malpais is already approaching its limits. Researchers estimate that the landfill has a remaining capacity margin of just 11 percent, creating concerns about how Curaçao will handle future waste volumes as both the population and tourism sector place greater demands on the system.
Tourism represents a particularly significant challenge. According to the study, a tourist generates approximately three-and-a-half times as much waste per person as a Curaçao resident.
With visitor numbers expected to continue increasing, researchers project that the volume of tourism-related waste could double by 2030.
The report warns that Curaçao cannot afford to wait until ongoing studies into alternative waste-processing solutions are completed before taking action. The limited remaining capacity at Malpais means measures will be needed while longer-term solutions are being developed.
The problem becomes more urgent when measured against Curaçao’s tourism ambitions. The study projects that the number of stayover visitors could increase from more than 700,000 in 2024 to approximately 1.5 million annually by 2030 if the current growth trajectory continues.
That would mean more than twice as many stayover visitors within six years, with corresponding increases in waste generation and pressure on other public infrastructure.
The researchers identify Malpais as part of a much broader challenge facing Curaçao. Tourism development is expanding more rapidly than some of the infrastructure required to support it.
According to the study, the island’s accommodation capacity has increased by more than 80 percent since 2019. At the same time, pressure is growing on roads, housing, wastewater treatment and other public services.
The study therefore questions whether tourism development should continue to be driven primarily by market demand. Instead, researchers recommend that Curaçao more closely align new hotels and other tourism projects with the actual carrying capacity of the island’s infrastructure, natural environment and communities.
Waste management is one of the clearest examples of that imbalance.
The researchers say Curaçao needs more than increased recycling. Authorities must establish how much usable capacity Malpais actually has left and determine what waste-processing alternatives will be available when that capacity is exhausted.
Without timely intervention, continued tourism growth could increase the burden on a waste-management system that is already approaching its limits.
The findings add another dimension to Curaçao’s debate over the future of tourism. While continued visitor growth can generate employment, investment and government revenue, the study indicates that those economic benefits increasingly have to be weighed against the cost of expanding and maintaining the public infrastructure required to accommodate that growth.
For Malpais, that question is becoming particularly urgent: with only 11 percent of its capacity reportedly remaining and tourism-related waste expected to double by 2030, the study suggests that Curaçao has limited room to postpone decisions about the future of its waste system.