Taiwan turns plastic junk to 'green' gold
Posted: 12 September
2010 1215 hrs


Two
women sorting out used plastic bags at a recycling station operated by Tzu Chi
Foundation in Taipei.


TAIPEI - The mountains of used plastic bottles
at a recycling station in Taipei emit a faint smell of garbage dump, but soon
they will be turned into wigs and clothes that people will wear.

From
fake hair to football jerseys and building bricks, Taiwan is breathing new life
into its massive plastics waste, creating a booming new business at the same
time as it aims to go green.

The island started recycling plastic more
than a decade ago amid growing environmental concerns, and today it boasts about
73 percent recycling rates, according to the cabinet's Environmental Protection
Administration.

Last year, nearly 180,000 tonnes of used plastic were
collected and turned into raw materials worth 4.5 billion Taiwan dollars (140
million US), which cut down garbage disposal costs and carbon dioxide emissions,
it said.

"Recycled plastics can be made into many products such as
garments, flower pots, wigs and zippers," said Ma Nien-ho, a spokesman for the
administration's recycling fund management board.

"We are not only
protecting the environment but also making money," he said.

Taiwan took
pride in the so-called "eco-fabric" that was used by local companies to make the
jerseys for nine teams competing in the recent football World Cup in South
Africa.

Each jersey, made from eight plastic bottles melted and
processed into polyester, is 13 percent lighter than traditional fabric and can
absorb and disperse sweat more quickly, according to Taiwan Textile Research
Institute.

"The production process is also more environmentally friendly
as it takes less water and energy to dye the shirts when using coloured
bottles," said Alex Lo, managing director of Super Textile Corporation.

Super Textile, a leading Taiwanese maker of eco-fabric, started
exporting to the United States and Japan in recent years, which gave a boost of
up to 10 percent to its business, Lo said.

"The response has been much
warmer in the past two years due to rising awareness on global warming and
fluctuating cotton prices," Lo said.

"We are optimistic that the World
Cup publicity will help stir up more demand."

Taiwan, a small island
that consumes about 4.5 billion plastic bottles annually, is seen as having an
advantage in manufacturing eco-textiles through lower transportation and
recycling costs.

Tzu Chi Foundation, one of the island's largest charity
groups, runs 4,500 recycling stations across Taiwan with the help of about
70,000 volunteers who collected 12,000 tonnes of used bottles last year.

The foundation has distributed more than 300,000 blankets made from
plastic bottles since 2007 for relief uses at home and abroad, it said.

And perhaps in the near future houses built from recycled plastic
bottles will mushroom across the island after "Eco Ark", the world's first such
building, is unveiled in November.

"Eco Ark" -- a three-storey 24-metre
high exhibition hall due to debut at the Taipei International Floral Exposition
-- is built from 1.5 million recycled plastic bottles and cost 300 million
Taiwan dollars.

"The bottles are processed to make bricks that can
resist earthquakes, wind and fire while providing the building with natural
lighting to save electricity," said its architect Arthur Huang.

"The
'polli-bricks' are also less expensive than conventional materials like wood and
glass so the construction cost is much lower."

Huang said his firm is
currently building a luxury boutique hotel and several factories and corporate
buildings with the bricks.

"Just imagine if we can replace all the steel
roofs in the buildings in Taipei with light transparent polli-bricks. That would
make the city look more beautiful."

- AFP/ir

I think this is a very effective & smart way to earn money, but the most important thing is that it is able to prevent more gobal warming by recycling plastic, plus the materials made from the plastic are also very useful. Hopefully, alot of people would support this & buy their items because if i was given a chance, i would.