Taiwan turns plastic junk to ‘green’ gold
The mountains of used plastic bottles at a recycling station in
Taipei emit a faint smell of garbage dump, but soon they will be turned
into wigs and clothes that people will wear.
Plastic bottles collected for recycling. AFP
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From fake hair to football jerseys and building bricks, Taiwan is
breathing new life into its massive plastics waste, creating a booming
new business at the same time as it aims to go green.
The island started recycling plastic more than a decade ago amid
growing environmental concerns, and today it boasts about 73 percent
recycling rates, according to the cabinet’s Environmental Protection
Administration.
Last year, nearly 180,000 tonnes of used plastic were collected and
turned into raw materials worth 4.5 billion Taiwan dollars (140 million
US), which cut down garbage disposal costs and carbon dioxide emissions,
it said.
“Recycled plastics can be made into many products such as garments,
flower pots, wigs and zippers,” said Ma Nien-ho, a spokesman for the
administration’s recycling fund management board.
“We are not only protecting the environment but also making money,”
he said.
Taiwan took pride in the so-called “eco-fabric” that was used by
local companies to make the jerseys for nine teams competing in the
recent football World Cup in South Africa.
Each jersey, made from eight plastic bottles melted and processed
into polyester, is 13 percent lighter than traditional fabric and can
absorb and disperse sweat more quickly, according to Taiwan Textile
Research Institute.
“The production process is also more environmentally friendly as it
takes less water and energy to dye the shirts when using coloured
bottles,” said Alex Lo, managing director of Super Textile Corporation.
Super Textile, a leading Taiwanese maker of eco-fabric, started
exporting to the United States and Japan in recent years, which gave a
boost of up to 10 percent to its business, Lo said.
“The response has been much warmer in the past two years due to
rising awareness on global warming and fluctuating cotton prices,” Lo
said. “We are optimistic that the World Cup publicity will help stir up
more demand.”
Taiwan, a small island that consumes about 4.5 billion plastic
bottles annually, is seen as having an advantage in manufacturing
eco-textiles through lower transportation and recycling costs.
Tzu Chi Foundation, one of the island’s largest charity groups, runs
4,500 recycling stations across Taiwan with the help of about 70,000
volunteers who collected 12,000 tonnes of used bottles last year.
The foundation has distributed more than 300,000 blankets made from
plastic bottles since 2007 for relief uses at home and abroad, it said.
And perhaps in the near future houses built from recycled plastic
bottles will mushroom across the island after “Eco Ark”, the world’s
first such building, is unveiled in November.
“Eco Ark” — a three-storey 24-metre (78-feet) high exhibition hall
due to debut at the Taipei International Floral Exposition, is built
from 1.5 million recycled plastic bottles and cost 300 million Taiwan
dollars.
AFP
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