Taiwan uses around 1.02 billion single-use cups each year

TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan uses around 1.02 billion single-use cups annually. Recycling companies are transforming part of this waste into stationery, bags, and original items.

"Basically, everything that comes here can be recycled," said Huang Yi-ru, director of a recycling company. "We sort waste out at the recycling station; between 6 and 8 tons of No. 2 and No. 5 plastics are recycled here."

After the plastic bottles are sorted, crushed, and cleaned, the fragments are melted into long strips. And after cooling, the plastic strips can be cut out.

Messenger bags, toys, pens, and even fitness equipment can all be created from recycled pellets. 

This company takes around 4,000 tons of recycled plastic bottles a month, generating about 3,000 tons of plastic pellets.

According to Hsu Cheng-yu, manager of the R&D department at a recycle & reuse company, "the biggest advantage of using recycled materials is that they can reduce carbon emissions by about 70% compared with new materials."

"Between 300,000 and 350,000 tons of materials are recycled every year. With the recycling capacity of plastic containers, we will likely make 25,000 tons of recycled plastic pellets, bringing about around NT＄1 billion in revenue to the group."

In addition to plastic bottles, car and motorcycle shells can be recycled too. Most covers in Taiwan are made of ABS, which is not recyclable. 

Now electric motorcycle manufacturers also provide recycling companies with discarded shells, which can be recycled into stationery.

"Their latest generation of environmentally friendly car shells are made of PP car shells. We hope that in the future, after collecting this waste in bulk, with the data collected, we can draw up a plan for relatively large-scale productions," said Lu Chih-wei, the project manager at a recycling company.

"Then we can apply it back, maybe to car-related parts, and create a complete sustainable cycle for corporations," he added.

Companies in Taiwan are looking to reuse waste and consume fewer resources to create a more sustainable environment for future generations.