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Recycling of kitchen waste set to start soon

Calling it "the second wave of the garbage revolution," Taipei City Government yesterday announced that recycling of household kitchen waste will formally start on Dec. 26.

Chen Yeong-ren (陳永仁), head of the city's Bureau of Environmental Protection, said the recycling of household kitchen waste is the most significant policy regarding garbage since the city implemented a policy in 2000 that reduces waste by requiring people to pay for garbage bags.

Chen said that the bureau has finished preparations for the new policy and is confident that it can be implemented as scheduled.

He pointed out that nearly 98 percent of garbage trucks are equipped with two big buckets for recycling kitchen waste, and 87 percent of boroughs have started the recycling on a trial basis.

"Recycling household kitchen waste will not only reduce the quantity of garbage and the use of incinerators, but will also contribute to the sustainable use of resources," Chen said. "Our goal is to recycle all resources so that no waste must be buried by 2010."

Chen said people can recycle kitchen waste at the same time they take out their garbage -- on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. The bureau will distribute free containers to hold the waste.

There will be two categories of kitchen waste: waste for feeding pigs and waste for composting. According to the bureau's definition, waste for feeding pigs is food that people do not want to eat anymore, such as leftovers, or food that is spoiled; waste for composting is material that people cannot eat but which can decompose.

Chen took eggs as an example. "People can't eat egg shells, but egg shells are organic waste, so they will be composted. Egg yolks and whites belong to the other category," he said.

Chen added that the new policy will be promoted from Dec. 26 to Feb. 26 next year.

After Feb. 26, those who mix non-kitchen waste such as batteries, glass or plastic products with kitchen waste will be fined from NT$1,200 to NT$6,000.

The bureau has set up two phone lines that the public can use to get more details: 2725-2818 during office hours (8am-8pm) and 2720-6301 at other times.
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