The recycling of table scraps and other food waste will become compulsory by 2006 nationwide, and will create about NT$2.4 billion in economic benefits, the Environmental Protection Admin-istration (EPA) said yesterday.
The new policy, which will make mandatory the recycling of all leftover food waste will begin in January next year and be fully implemented by 2006. Waste produced by households and restaurants will be subject to the new regulations. The policy is part of an effort to ease the burdens on waste incinerators. Officials said that Taiwan produces about 4,500 tonnes of leftover food waste daily, which accounts for 25 percent of all household waste.
Currently, the amount of leftover food waste recycled daily in 254 townships in the nation's 25 counties amounts to 836 tonnes, but this is done on a voluntary basis. In other words, less than one-fifth of all food waste produced by the nation is recycled.
Among its uses, food waste is used in livestock feed and in the production of compost.
"We aim to boost the amount to 1,600 tonnes by 2007, accounting for one-third of all food waste produced nationwide," Lin Tzo-hsiang (林左祥) of the EPA's Chief Inspectorate told the Taipei Times yesterday.
The EPA aims to have all 319 townships in 25 counties recycling leftover food in the near future. To reach the target of 1,600 metric tons by 2007, the EPA has spent a considerable sum of money on studies, educational programs and effectively food waste recycling measures. According to Lin, between 2003 and 2007, at least NT$1.4 billion would be spent to promote leftover food recycling.
Lin said that the effectiveness of the promotion of leftover food recycling depends on several factors, including education, well-designed collecting systems and facilities.
The EPA recently reviewed programs promoting the recycling of food waste across the nation and found that Taichung City, Keelung City, Ilan County and Taipei City had the best existing food waste recycling systems.
According to Lin, the Taipei City Government's success is due to the fact that almost all food waste collected can be fully utilized. Among the top performers, more than 60 percent of leftover food is recycled, Lin said.
The average cost of treating one tonne of household waste in incinerators is NT$2,000. The recycling of 1,600 tonnes of leftover food will not only ease the burden on incinerators but also create secondary benefits for the agricultural sector, Lin said.
"We estimate that the economic benefits resulting from the program will amount to about NT$2.4 billion annually," Lin said.
Currently, the EPA promotes a consumption restraint policy which states: "Eat what you can cook at home and order only what you can finish from restaurants."
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