This is not Taiwan but it perfectly could be. When I go to the coast I try to pick up plastic garbage and dispose it somewhere. However, it feels like you are doing nothing, even if you remove two or three sacks of plastic crap. It really makes you hate all the idiots (including you) who buy compulsively stupid sugary drinks and crap they don’t need, and then leave them anywhere.
Taiwan has banned use of single-use straws by 2142 and we’re working on throwing all the current scooters into landfills and replacing them with electric units that run on moonbeams.
But, yeah, plastic seems to be something that we could improve on a personal level.
So why aren’t plastic being recycled? Most plastics especially soda bottles are 100% recyclable almost like glass. You just grind it up and melt and recast. Even polystyrene is recyclable.
Was in hi life last night and had to buy a bag since I bought too much to carry. Notice the bag can also be used for trash when the little music truck comes around. SMART IDEA
Too many unrecyclables among the recyclables, people are lazy, people litter, not enough public rubbish bins…
The plastic is from many many sources, not just straws and drinking cups etc. There’s a lot of rubbish related to fishermen for example. Then you’ll find loads of old plastic soles and stuff. It’s a big problem and it’s multifaceted.
So they can’t just set up a plant that can somehow recognize different types of plastic or have some sort of a tracking mechanism (for example tracking dyes that glows only under UV lights for recyclable plastic or something) for them?
Then the rest of the unrecyclable stuff can be burned in high temp incinerators to generate electricity.
There are probably only a handful of manufacturers that makes plastic pellets from petrochemicals. It’s not hard to mandate the use of tracking dyes or chemicals so items can be identified for recycling.
A lot of plastics are floating over from China as well and also south east Asia. It’s a regional problem. If course we can start here especially dealing with the fishing boats and boats in general.
Most of the plastic is from developing countries honestly.
Like Taiwan?
While it is a global problem because all countries pollute and because also garbage gets globalised, it’s Taiwan what I see full of garbage, it’s Taiwan who I see producing and consuming incredible amounts of shit.
I’ve taken very similar pictures in India.
Taiwan makes its fair share for sure.
Here is a list that’s interesting.
Oh, the store! I thought you meant the film…
Germany’s position surprised me on that list.
It would be interesting to see the same but per capita.
I feel your pain. For what it’s worth I had to stop consuming those sugary drinks for health reasons, and at most I buy one plastic bottle a week now. But yeah, it’s a problem everywhere.
I want plastic waste importation to be banned in Taiwan, the same as China and many other countries have banned importation .
Wtf are we importing that stuff for.
I think it’s terrible how much plastic is floating in the ocean, but as for Taiwan beaches specifically, many used to be garbage dumps just 20 years ago ! So it hasn’t necessarily got worse in Taiwan, but it can be a whole lot better !.There are volunteer groups going out to the beaches in the north regularly to clean them, look on Facebook .
I visited bali a while back and was very disappointed with the if trash on the beaches.
Indonesia
https://www.voxteneo.com/bechange/plastic-waste-problem-indonesia/
Taiwan used to be a lot worse.
Beaches were literally garbage dumps, I remember some horrifying sites on the north coast. Hard to believe if you there now .
But again , we need to do better still. Locally and regionally.
In 1993
Here’s some good examples of how greedy, deceptive crapitalism adding to the problem:
http://toopanda.com/evil-packaging-designs-makes-us-completely-look-like-fool/?ref=qqfmj0v&utm_campaign=2387&utm_term=qqfmj0v&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=facebook
