Environmentalists say Taiwan's plastic waste problem has gotten much worse in recent years despite government attempts to address it.
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00:00Taiwan's battle against plastic waste doesn't look like it's going well.
00:05While the cabinet drew up a strategy to tackle the issue way back in 2003, environmentalists
00:10say the volume of waste has exploded, even just in the past decade.
00:13We've found that our waste has not decreased.
00:17Taiwan's waste produced from 28 million tons in 2014 to 33 million tons in 2023.
00:26This is far more than the government's original goal.
00:32The groups represented here have a few ideas about why this has happened.
00:35As a result of the trade war, many of our factories were closed down.
00:38This has led to an increase in manufacturing costs, as well as an increase in waste.
00:42This has also led to a short-term effect on the new environment.
00:46Much of this plastic is burnt rather than reused or recycled, and the government is
00:50planning to increase the capacity of incinerators, which currently can't keep up with the amount
00:54of waste being produced.
00:55Today, these groups are gathered to release a report they drew up with international help
00:59on this problem.
01:01A lot of plastic is burnt.
01:05In Europe, the priority is to reduce the amount of waste and reuse it.
01:13But reusing it also includes recycling.
01:16In just a few weeks, diplomats from around the world will gather in South Korea for our
01:20last round of talks on a global plastic treaty.
01:23Though Taiwan is often sidelined in global affairs, these environmentalists say it's
01:27time the country steps up its fight to cut down waste from the source.
01:31Alex Chen and John Van Triest for Taiwan Plus.