As hundreds of tonnes of toys are disposed of each year, an environmental protection group on Monday suggested that people buy toys that can be used for a long time and to donate toys to the Taiwan Toy Library Association to extend their use.
About 90 percent of toys found on the market are now made of plastic, which on average are only played with for about six months, the Taiwan RE-THINK Environmental Education Association said.
The toys are often made with multiple materials, including plastic and metal, making them difficult to recycle, but children usually do not want to play with them once they are damaged and they end up as waste, the association said.
Photo: Lin Liang-che, Taipei Times
The Taiwan Toy Library Association said hundreds of tonnes of toys are being disposed of each year in Taiwan and more than 80 percent are incinerated or buried, causing environmental pollution.
The library association suggested that people donate toys to be repaired and passed on to other children.
It said it has received an average of more than 40 tonnes of toys per year, it that the number is growing by 20 to 30 percent each year, reaching 74 tonnes in 2021.
RE-THINK said that although there are repair and reuse services, they cannot match the speed at which toys are thrown away.
It encouraged parents and children to try to select toys that can be repeatedly played with for longer periods of time, such as wooden building blocks or other environmentally friendly options.
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