The Ministry of Environment’s Resource Circulation Administration yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Taoyuan International Airport Corp on plastic circulation cooperation.
Deputy Minister of Environment Shen Chih-hsiu (沈志修) said recycling at households could be traced back to 1997.
“That was when each garbage truck started to be followed by a recycling truck,” he said.
Photo: Wu Po-hsuan, Taipei Times
Taiwan has a fund-based resource recycling system that involves consumers, recyclers, waste management companies and waste reuse technology development, Shen said.
Such experience is worth sharing with the world, he added.
The Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport is the gateway to Taiwan, with passenger traffic reaching about 47.8 million people last year, Shen said.
Most travelers are from abroad and the airport is the first stop where they can experience Taiwan’s “green lifestyle,” he said.
Eateries at the airport would no longer provide single-use utensils to reduce waste, Shen said, adding that plastic reduction and resource repurposing would be incorporated into the airport’s management.
For example, recycled resources are being used to make cultural and creative products, such as soap boxes, he said.
Such products are expected to become available at the airport or on the plane, he added.
Taoyuan airport earned the airport carbon accreditation from the Airports Council International last year, the first airport in Taiwan to receive the recognition, Shen said.
Combined with enhanced efforts in plastic reduction and resource circulation, the airport is expected to set an example for other transportation spaces in Taiwan, he said.
The ministry would help match recycling industry players with the airport’s resource management needs, as well as provide legal and technical assistance, he added.
Administration Director-General Lai Ying-ying (賴瑩瑩) said the MOU marked the start of a long-term collaboration with the airport on promoting resource circulation.
There are more than 200 companies and 38,000 personnel at the airport, and tens of millions of travelers pass through the airport, she said.
“We hope to introduce the concept and practices of resource circulation — including source reduction, resource recycling and repurposing — at the airport,” she added.
Asked about the airport’s plastic reduction target within a year, Lai said the goal is to establish a mechanism for circular use of recycled resources.
The MOU was signed by Lai and TIAC president Fan Hsiao-lun (范孝倫).
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