The government should expedite measures that can improve recycling channels, while people should take the time to look at labels to ensure recyclables are sorted correctly, environmental protection group Taiwan Watch said on Friday.
More than 80,000 tonnes of “flat-surface” plastic containers are discarded annually — such as lunchbox packaging, foam films for electronic products and cracker boxes — but only 16.19 percent are recycled.
Up to 70,000 tonnes of the materials are either sent to the incinerators or are being stored at recycling stations, the group said.
Photo courtesy of Taiwan Watch
Medium and large-scale recycling businesses often refuse such materials, even if they have been categorized and cleaned, Taiwan Watch secretary-general Hsieh Ho-lin (謝和霖) said.
The businesses cite limited storage and high overheads for processing, and say these materials cannot be compressed into manageable blocks the way other plastics can, Hsieh said.
Plastic foam and internal wrapping are not considered recyclables under regulations, and sometimes recycling businesses reject entire truckloads of the material, he said.
The government should draft measures to encourage recycling businesses to accept materials categorized as flat-surface wrappers, he said.
Bubble wrap and internal plastic films are to be considered flat-surface wrapping under an amendment to be announced by the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) next month, but more needs to be done, Hsieh said.
Recycling businesses should not be fined for miscategorized materials, and apartment buildings should provide resources for residents to better sort their recyclables.
Proper sorting from the individual source would significantly reduce the labor required to re-sort materials when they arrive at a recycling station, Hsieh said.
Hsieh cited regulations from other countries that encourage reusing flat-surface wrapping materials after transporting groceries.
He also suggested that Taiwan establish a recycling center that would buy recyclables at a low price and provide facilities to handle and process flat-surface wrappers.
EPA Recycling Management Fund Executive Secretary Wang Yue-bin (王嶽斌) said that the flat-surface amendment would be expedited and promulgated in May next year, after which manufacturers of such wrappers would pay additional handling fees.
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