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Seven Recycling Misconception That You Did Not Know
Apr 16, 2018

Taiwan produces about 7 million tons of rubbish every year, equivalent to around 12,700 Taipei 101 buildings, ranking Taiwan 13th in the world.  Out of which the recycle rate is nearly 50% , leading many European Countries and American, at the same time making headlines such as,「Taiwan: The World’s Geniuses of Garbage Disposal」 on The Wall Street Journal, in 2016.  Relevant government policies have raised recycling rate, but at the same time we need ask where these recycled items are going?  Is it because the public “feel” that since rubbish can be “recycled”, we thus create more of it?

We will now tell you about the Seven Recycling Misconception that you did not know:

 

Misconception 1     As long as it is plastic, it can be recycled

In Taiwan, plastic account for 15% of the total amount of garbage.  In general when we finish our drink or snack, we throw away our on hand plastic cup and plate straight into the rubbish bin labeled “recyclable” when in fact, before disposing you should search for the triangle mark made up of three arrows pointing clockwise on your plastic product, there will be a 1~7 number inside the triangle mark, this represents a different type of plastic, thus plastic not in this range (such as special, composite materials or styrofoam) will be treated as general waste.

*Recycling Tip: Before recycling, pay attention to the recycling mark, and do not carelessly throw into the recycling bin, causing trouble for the recycling staff.  Or bring your own reusable cutlery, then you won’t even need to consider how to recycle!

 

Misconception 2    No need to worry about recycling PET bottles?

On a hot day, going to a convenience store to buy a bottle of cool drink, is simpler than ever but how do we handle the bottle afterwards?  Every in general throws it straight into the recycling bin.  Although PET bottles can be recycled and then made into related products, because of Taiwan’s recycling habits of not first washing the bottle and processing the bottle cap and ring (the two are different plastic materials thus needs to be separated and recycled through different systems) therefore: water, manpower, fire, electricity and so on is required to actually remake a PET bottle into another product.  Moreover, it is not one bottle for one swap, as decomposed plastic cannot be restored to its initial state, increased plastic materials need to be added to make another product.

*Recycling Tip: Before recycling, please first rinse and clean the bottle, and separate the plastic packaging, bottle cap and ring, then flatten the bottle and throw it all into the recycling bin.

 

Misconception 3    Plastic bags can also be recycled? !

Taiwanese use an average of 2.7 plastic bags per person per day, the country as a whole uses 18 billion per year, which is 3.9 times that of EU countries.  In recent years, the government has promoted plastic bags that can be recycled however, this does not mean that we can “be at ease” when using plastic bags.  According to government announcement, only “clean” and “single-material” plastic bags are eligible for recycling.  Plastic with grease, blood or chip packets (with silver lining inside) are all non-recyclable.

*Recycling Tip: Bring own eco-friendly bags or container, plan your shopping trip.  At the same time also carry one or two plastic bags, it will come in handy when you need one and keep reusing them.

 

 

Misconception 4    Can straws be recycled?

Awhile back there was a youtube video showing a sea turtle with something unknown stuck in its nostril.  It was none other than one of the most commonly  used items by humanity – a straw.  (Can search with keywords: “sea turtle straw” to view, please enter with caution)  For this reason, the invention of glass and stainless steel straws, were created to replace one use plastic straws.  Humans rely heavily on straws, with the United States consuming 500 million straws a day alone.  In the end can straws actually be recycled?  According to the Kuroshio Ocean Education Foundation, although regulations of each county is different, but the “Resource Recycling Management Fund’s Management Committee” has stated that straws cannot be recycled.  This is because the source for each type of straws is irregular, and it is hard for consumers to identify on top of that, manufacturers need to still clean and process making the recycling cost too high, so straws cannot be recycled in most counties and cities.

*Usage Tip: At a restaurant, use an in house cup and take the initiative to inform the waiter not to provide a straw.  You can also bring your own straw made from glass or stainless steel sold on may platforms.

Glass straw purchase platform: https://www.4theturtles.com

Misconception 5    Paper cups is paper recycling?

A cup of coffee is a small delight but where should the paper cup lie?  In the general recycling bin or the paper recycling bin after drinking?  If it is because you think that paper cups can be recycled so you use them at ease, we are only able to tell you, paper cups have a recycle rate of less than 10% and there is only one professional paper container company.  Exactly, so out of the 20 cups of coffee you ordered for your colleagues during the afternoon, only 2 “might” enter the recycling system.  The amount of paper cups used in Taiwan annually can cover both Taipei and New Taipei City.  A waterproof layer is needed inside the paper cup therefore, an extra layer of PE film is needed, making the regeneration rate only 30%.  Furthermore, the recycling value is too low and attracts mosquitoes and insets to breed therefore, most manufacturers directly treat them as paper recycling.  But in fact, general paper recycling factories, are not able to completely process paper containers such as cups and lunch boxes.  So it needs to use more energy and resources to process which is secondary damage to the environment.

 

Misconception 6    Didn’t win a prize, then throw it in the recycling bin?

Electronic receipts are now more common than previous paper receipts, after every bimonthly draw, do you throw your receipts into the recycling bin?  In fact, electronic receipts (or ATM, convenience store bills, basically any printed items using thermal paper) cannot be recycled through general paper recycling.  This is mainly due to it having to be water and oil proof, which requires many more chemical stabilizers to achieve this effect.  Therefore, at present, we are only able to throw such paper into general rubbish to incinerate.

*Recycling Tip: You can utilize the Ministry of Finance’s Electronic Receipt platform, to download all your electronic receipts to reduce the use of electronic receipts.

Misconception 7    Exchange old clothes for new clothes?

During the Chinese New Year or season change, people often pick out clothes that they have not worn in a long time either too small or out dated, and throw them into the “old clothes” recycling box.  Then after a beautiful turn, they can buy new clothes for the New Year!  (Please note that blankets, pillows, curtains, and stuffed toys etc., cannot be recycled through the same recycling channel as old clothing.  One can donate blankets and pillows to animal shelters as some of it can be used for our furry friends as mats.)  Does our old recycled clothes go to social welfare groups as imagined?  According to data at the end of 2016, manufacturers recovered about 6 tons of used clothing (equivalent to 1,000 kilograms) in New Taipei City per month.  Clothing need to be 90% new and if a piece of clothing is too dirty, too old or not fitting for the purpose, it is not up to standard.  After sorting through the fabric materials, some wool and denim fabrics can be re-made into other products and the remaining 4 tons of unqualified clothes left each month, are incinerated.  Taiwan’s social welfare groups also have less demand year after year, and the quality of old clothes exported to foreign countries cannot be matched by that of China.  Do we think about how many times we have worn that piece of clothing before recycling it?  According to foreign statistics, buying one less new garment can reduce carbon emissions by 6 kilograms.  Annual global production of clothing is 80 billion, imagine the consumption of dyes, detergents, and chemical pollution it causes Earth, at the same time how many sweatshops are created just for our desire to chase cheap fashion?

*Recycling Tip: There are many platforms in Taiwan that offer good quality second-hand clothing at a reasonable price.  Maybe first consider these second-hand goods before you buy new clothes next time so that the clothes can reach their true value?

Second-Hand Clothing Platform:

Used Boutiquehttps://www.facebook.com/usedboutique/

Little Sparrow Secondhand Shop:https://www.littlesparrow48.co

 

 

We only simply organized seven points for your reference, we trust that there are still many items that everyone are still unsure if it can be recycled or not.  On this point, you may search on the different counties government recycling website to understand more and help us in reducing waste and improve recycling rate.

What we want to emphasize is that recycling is not a sustainable circulation.  People often think “recycle” and neglect to reuse them.  Perhaps some stores provide eco-friend bags so customers feel comfortable when using them however, every time you take an eco-friendly bag, you actually need to use it 131 times to achieve true “eco-friendly”.  Maybe you would say, “then let us go back to the old way and just use plastic bags!”  Similar to the triggered outburst of discussion regarding which straw: plastic, glass or stainless is more eco-friendly.  In this view, we need to face and think: most of these inventions are for “convenience”, “fast” whilst “green products” have the advantage of repeated use thus replacing disposable products.  The emphasis is on “repeated use” and not recycle re-make, after recycling most products cannot return to its original product and requires many more procedures.  Even though it can be reused but the cost involved and waste produced has a large impact to the environment which is often the side we cannot see when we throw away rubbish from our hands into the recycling bin.

We hope that everyone can reflect and start by bringing a little inconvenience for themselves in our convenient society today, to improve the environmental impact and ecological catastrophe caused by human beings.

 

Related links reference:

Ministry of Health and Welfare: http://plasticspackage.pidc.org.tw/main.php

Kuroshio Ocean Education Foundation: http://www.kuroshio.org.tw/newsite/index.php

By Reise
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