Plastic bottles - gold mines in Taiwan

Plastic bottles on Taiwan island will turn into wigs, clothes, blankets and even the whole building.

Plastic bottles are collected at a plastic recycling plant on Taiwan island.
(Photo: washingtonpost.com).

AFP said Taiwan Island began recycling recycled plastic more than a decade ago to minimize the harm it could cause to the environment. The island's Environmental Protection Agency announced that currently 73% of its waste is recycled.

Last year, nearly 180,000 tons of waste plastic was collected and turned into raw materials. The total value of raw materials is up to 140 million USD. Besides, recycling activities also reduce the cost of garbage disposal and carbon emissions.

' Recycled plastics can be used to produce a variety of goods such as fabrics, flower pots, wigs and lighters. We not only protect the environment but also earn money from garbage , 'said Ma Nien-ho, spokesman for the Environmental Protection Agency.

Taiwan is proud of its ' eco-fiber ' product, which is used by island companies to produce corsets for 9 football teams competing in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Each cardigan is made up of 9 waste plastic bottles. The Taiwan Textile Research Institute insists that each yarn in the cardigan is 13% lighter than traditional yarns and has the ability to absorb and disperse sweat faster.

Super Textile, one of the leading companies in the field of eco-fiber production in Taiwan, exports textile products to the US and Japan in the last few years. As a result, its sales increased by 10%.

' The level of receiving recyclable plastic products from customers has been increasing in the last two years due to the perception of global warming and the volatility of cotton prices, ' said Alex Lo, executive director. Super Textile's company, said.

People on Taiwan island throw about 4.5 billion plastic bottles every year. Thanks to low transportation and recycling costs, the recycling industry on the island is growing.

The Tzu Chi Foundation, one of the island's largest charities, manages up to 4,500 garbage recycling plants with the support of about 70,000 volunteers. This fund has distributed more than 300,000 blankets manufactured from plastic bottles to disaster areas around the world since 2007.

Recycled plastic will also be used to build houses on Taiwan island. Eco Ark, a building built from 1.5 million recycled plastic bottles, will be released to the public in November. Architect Arthur Huang, who designed the building, declared bricks from recycled plastic that were resistant to earthquakes, storms, and fires. Eco Ark gets plenty of natural light so it saves a lot of electricity. Brick from waste plastic has a lower cost than traditional bricks and wood, so the cost of building a building is also much lower than other buildings of the same size.