Increased subsidies for underprivileged scavengers have stimulated the market of garbage recycling, with the amount of recycled items growing threefold in three months, the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) said yesterday.
Many underprivileged people make a living by collecting and selling recyclable garbage, but some do not even earn enough a day to buy a cheap meal, EPA Recycling Fund Management Board executive secretary Yen Hsu-ming (顏旭明) told a news conference in Taipei.
Nearly 8,900 scavengers across the nation need urgent financial aid, board section chief Lien Yi-wei (連奕偉) said, adding that the figure only included those registered with the government.
Photo: Lo Chi, Taipei Times
To alleviate their predicament and boost recycling, the EPA in August launched a new subsidy program, raising the prices of 12 types of recyclable waste that local government-owned garbage squads pay to individual scavengers, Yen said.
For example, prices for paper-made containers rose from NT$1.4 to NT$18 (US$0.05 to US$0.59) per kilogram; plastic containers from NT$5 to NT$12 per kilogram; and computer keyboards from NT$1 to NT$30, he said.
The amount of recycled garbage grew from an average of 32 tonnes in the first seven months to 77 tonnes in August, 117 tonnes in September and 123 tonnes last month, Yen said.
Each scavenger can receive up to NT$3,500 per month through the program and earn an additional NT$3,500 if they are hired by borough wardens as impromptu cleaners for 25 hours per month, he said.
Big garbage dealers are more willing to accept certain garbage, such as paper-made containers for food, once they have been accumulated and cleaned by garbage squads, Yen added.
Cheng Chiu-tzu (鄭秋子), a Taoyuan-based scavenger who was invited to speak at the news conference, said she could not find proper work after the right half of her body was injured in a car accident.
She has to take care of her 26-year-old daughter who is mentally challenged and older family members who are senile, Cheng said.
Thanks to the new program, she earns nearly NT$3,000 more per month, she said.
She has also taught her daughter to ask for recyclable waste from passersby and say “thank you” in return, Cheng added.
To help more people, the agency plans to increase the subsidy program’s budget from NT$12 million this year to NT$85 million next year, Yen said.
The budget still needs to be approved by the legislature, Yen added.
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