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EPA mulls battery recycling project

While Chang Kow-lung (張國龍), minister of the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA), has proposed using the deposit system to raise the recycling rate, EPA officials have noted that a lot of complimentary measures need to be taken before the policy takes effect.

The deposit system will ask buyers of batteries to pay a NT$5 deposit. They can get the refund after they have returned with the used batteries.

"The Waste Disposal Act (廢棄物清理法) will first have to be amended," EPA official Wu Meng-er (吳孟兒) said. "Next, the administration has to figure out ways to manage the huge amount of deposit accumulated through the mechanism."

"We also have to determine where and how buyers can get the deposit back, whether through convenience stores or through financial institutions," he said.

Wu said the administration will continue the campaign to recycle used batteries, but it is more inclined to include battery manufacturers directly.

"It is the global trend that recycling is becoming part of corporate responsibility," he said.

Wu said that the administration has been trying to convey this message to the manufacturers through many seminars and discussion sessions over the years. While they all have expressed their willingness to cooperate, they have also addressed the need for the public to help raise the recycling rate of batteries.

According to Wu, the recycling rate of used batteries has greatly increased over the years. Last year, recycled batteries reached 4,289.5 tonnes, which translates to a recycling rate exceeding 45 percent.

The recycling rates in 2004 and 2005 were only 17.75 percent and 21.9 percent respectively.

The increase in the number of recycled batteries has motivated people to establish recycling companies, Wu said.

Besides the deposit system, the ministry has also proposed other options. For example, one proposal would allow a discount on new batteries in exchange for used ones.

In the past, the administration used a similar plan, rewarding recyclers of used water bottles by giving them NT$2 for each bottle.

The campaign has proven to be successful, as the recycling rate of the bottles has doubled.

The EPA had to eventually cancel the award system in 2002, as many used it as a way to make money.
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