Recycling initiative turns waste nets and ropes into usable nylon

Oyster farming is a big industry in Taiwan, and a mainstay of Chiayi County’s economy. The southern county can produce large quantities of high-quality seafood, but at a devastating cost to the environment. Nylon ropes used for oyster cultures become hardened by seawater over time, and produce over 1,000 tons of waste annually. Conservationists are now working with the industry to process that waste rope and turn it into usable plastic. They hope that adding value to recycled materials will offset the costs of recycling. Let’s hear what the experts have to say in our Sunday special report. Between the coastline of Chiayi County and the nearby Waishanding sandbar there is a channel of water with a surface area roughly 10,000 hectares in size. Throughout the channel, oyster-culture rafts can be seen dotting the surface. This oyster farming industry is the pride of Chiayi County residents. Chang Ken-mu Chiayi County Environmental Protection Bureau Chiayi County’s farmed oysters are the best in Taiwan, in my opinion. This is because the water quality is good, and the environmental conditions here provide a natural barrier. Therefore, 70% of oysters farmed in Taiwan come from Chiayi County. The industry generates NT$1.1 billion in annual output. At 6 in the morning, boats depart from Chiayi’s Dongshi Township. From the break of dawn, the oyster farmers’ busy day begins. The farmer skillfully cuts of strings of oysters one at a time, and throws them into the machine for washing. Before the clock hits 7 o’clock, the farmers’ rafts are already loaded up with eight baskets each of fresh oysters, ready to be brought back to shore. Back at Xiazhuang 下庄 Fishing Harbor, fully loaded fishing boats arrive one after the other. They line up and wait for their hauls to be offloaded onto the pier. At Chiayi’s largest oyster processing plant, oysters come in from all of the nearby cities and counties. Dai Sen-tai Seafood processing plant In the past, oysters would come in covered in mud, and you would need to clean them off, but as you can see these are very clean. The rope and the oysters get separated. A machine separates the oysters from the rope, and can process 1,000 baskets of oysters per day. Each basket weighs roughly 100 kilograms, of which 60% is usable product that gets sent to restaurants. The remaining 40% is unusable oysters and rope. The question for farmers is what to do with that 40% waste. Dai Sen-tai Seafood processing plant In the past, we’d take the oysters brought in and just cut them here. The rope would be stuck in this hole, so you just mess with it to free it. The waste left behind when you wash the oysters would be swept away, and it would end up in the ditch. So, the ditch would get all clogged up. Chang Ken-mu Chiayi County Environmental Protection Bureau When we looked at footage from underwater cameras we discovered that the rope would harden and float away before sinking to the sea floor. That’s when we realized that there is a problem with waste. Behind Chiayi’s thriving oyster farming industry is 1,375 tons of waste oysters and rope generated annually. The nylon ropes used to hang oysters get hardened by seawater, causing them to deform. Some of that sinks to the bottom of the sea, while some of it gets discarded by the side of the road. It’s a serious environmental problem. Wen Yu-ping Reporter In the past, these waste oysters and rope were randomly discarded or burned. Today, with the local government paying NT$15 per kilogram of the waste, all of it gets piled up here. An excavator moves a pile of the waste to the middle of the road, and a steam roller crushes it. The roller goes back and forth over the waste shells and rope at least four times. Chou Hung-en Formosa Chemicals and Fiber Corporation We like to take the initiative. We work with recyclers who go to set drop-off locations and collect the waste rope. Basically as long as the oyster farmers bring their waste rope and shells to these fixed locations, our recycling partners will go and pick it up, and we purchase it at value. Sung Hsin-chen Ocean Conservation Administration Currently there are 12 city and county governments that have recycling programs for aquaculture and fisheries equipment. They pay a given amount per kilogram for recycled equipment, to the fishers. Things pile up, and the scope of the program increasingly grows. What we are hoping for is to establish a business model. After the shells are removed, the waste rope is brought to Formosa Chemicals and Fiber Corporation’s plant in Chiayi County’s Xingang Township, where it is given new life. Before the recycled rope can be processed, it’s tested to ensure it’s the right material. Shih Hsi