Since the implementation of the plastic bag reduction program in 2006, 1.44 billion plastic bags have been recycled annually, and the usage of plastic bags nationwide has been reduced by 2 billion per year, the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) said yesterday.
“Taiwan is the first country in the world that is implementing plastic recycling as a nation-wide program,” said Ho Soong-chin (何舜琴), director-general of the EPA’s department of Solid Waste Control.
Prior to the program, the number of plastic bags used annually was 20 billion, Ho said, which meant that each Taiwanese on average used 2.5 plastic bags a day.
Since the imple儉mentation of the program — which banned free plastic bags at government agencies, department stores, malls, supermarkets and convenience stores — the number of bags used in those sectors decreased from 3.43 billion to 1.4 billion, she said.
In response to a reporter noting that, even with 1.44 billion bags collected annually, the recycling rate for plastic bags was still a low 7 percent, Ho said the seemingly low figure was steadily increasing.
“It is also indisputable that since the implementation of the reduction and recycling program the number of plastic bags used has decreased significantly [in the sectors regulated],” she said.
Two methods were employed for the processing of bags, Ho said.
“With the dry method, relatively clean plastic bags are first melted, then made into plastic pebbles, which are the raw materials for recycled plastic products,” she said.
The wet method uses an additional breaking and cleaning process before melting the bags, making it capable of processing bags that contain grease or dirt, she said.
Though over 80 percent of cities and counties now practice plastic bag recycling, not all areas have the wet recycling technology, Ho said.
“If you live in a city or county that can only deal with dry bags, all dirty bags must go into the regular trash and get incinerated,” she said.
Another problem is that not all plastic bags are recyclable, Ho said.
“Bags that include aluminum or other materials, such as keep-fresh packaging commonly seen in potato chip products, tea leaves, coffee beans or frozen foods, are not recyclable,” she said.
Calling on the public to distinguish unrecyclable materials from recyclable polyethylene bags, Ho said that correct sorting would help decrease the work time of garbage collectors and alleviate them from additional burdens.
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