An Analysis of Recycling Performance for Achieving a Zero-Emission Society

Considering the management objectives of sustainable development, this paper examines and compares the recycling performance of various waste fractions in Taiwan in the context of sustainable development and develops a simple calculation method to define recycling performance for each waste fraction. In this paper, recycling performance is defined as the ratio of waste recycled to waste generated. The result finds that the recycling performance of waste metals was the highest, followed by waste glass and waste paper. This paper also finds that the recycling performance of food waste increased with the mass of food waste until it reached an optimum and dropped off with additional increases in mass of food waste past in the optimum. In consideration of a large amount of food wastes generated from productive institutions such as wholesalers, retailers, and restaurants, etc., this paper suggests 2 instruments to reduce the generation rate of food waste and increase recycling performance at the source: 1) a tax on food waste generated in the production process and 2) requiring production facilities to install affiliated digestion or composting plants for recycling of food waste. As for reducing consumptive food waste, this paper emphasizes the important role of environmental education for the public to engage in green consumption.