The Nantou County Government Environmental Protection Bureau has received double excellence awards in the Ministry of Environment's "2025 Environmental Protection Performance Assessment" for its work in resource circulation and toxic and chemical substance management. Among these, old clothing recycling performed outstandingly: Nantou City has set up 65 old clothing recycling bins, and as of September 2025, a cumulative 389.76 metric tons had been recycled, an increase of 132.28 metric tons compared with the same period in 2023, a growth rate of 51.37%.

Key Points

  • Nantou City has set up 65 old clothing recycling bins; as of September 2025, cumulative old clothing recycling reached 389.76 metric tons
  • Old clothing recycling volume increased by 132.28 metric tons compared with the same period in 2023, a growth rate of 51.37%
  • The Nantou County Government Environmental Protection Bureau received double excellence awards in resource circulation and toxic chemical management in the Ministry of Environment's 2025 assessment

The Ministry of Environment held an awards ceremony on September 17, 2026, and announced the results of the 2025 Environmental Protection Performance Assessment. Li Yishu, Director of the Nantou County Environmental Protection Bureau, pointed out that Nantou has a vast area and combines tourism, agriculture, and industrial characteristics. With the goal of "circular sustainability and a livable city," the county government not only promotes waste source reduction, application of recycled aggregates, and garbage sorting inspections, but also extends the concept of resource circulation to tourism activities, public markets, and community life.

In addition to old clothing recycling, the Nantou County Government has extended plastic reduction actions to large-scale events and daily venues. In conjunction with events such as the Nantou Lantern Festival and the World Tea Expo, it has promoted actions such as exchanging batteries for potted plants, bringing reusable cups, and "drink good tea, bring your own cup, eat green food." Cumulatively, this has reduced more than 268,000 plastic shopping bags, more than 25,700 single-use beverage cups, and more than 658,000 single-use lodging supplies, with estimated carbon reduction of about 21,703.3 kilograms. In markets and commercial districts, the Environmental Protection Bureau has guided public markets in holding bring-your-own-shopping-bag stamp collection activities, and has set up reusable cup rental and return machines at Nantou Theater, linking with nearby non-chain beverage shops to offer discounts. During the activity period, reusable cup rentals reached 1,329 person-times, and about 24,380 person-times brought their own reusable cups; in addition, environmentally friendly laundry detergent refill machines were added, with cumulative usage reaching 1,568 liters, reducing about 175 plastic containers per month on average.

Because the county has no independent garbage incineration treatment facilities, the Nantou County Environmental Protection Bureau, together with 13 townships and cities, conducted bag-opening inspections along collection routes, carrying out 70 collection routes and inspecting nearly 54,700 garbage bags, with an overall pass rate of about 77%; after strengthened inspections, townships with lower pass rates improved by about 7% to 10% compared with the previous year. Nantou City took the lead in piloting "strengthened bag-opening inspections of opaque garbage bags" to reduce the proportion of recyclables mixed into general waste; Puli Township, starting from September 1, 2025, designated every Monday as "Recycling Safety Day," concentrating the recycling of waste glass bottles, waste lamps (bulbs), and discarded small home appliances, balancing recycling effectiveness and the occupational safety of cleaning crew members. In the first month, recycling volume increased by about 5,783 kilograms, five times the previous amount, and expansion to other townships and cities will be evaluated later.

To dispose of incineration bottom ash and recycled aggregates generated after out-of-county garbage treatment, the Environmental Protection Bureau has actively matched public works with recycled aggregates. In 2025, a total of 13 public works projects introduced them, using a total of 12,881.216 metric tons, and promoted the use of two types of recycled aggregates—incineration recycled aggregates and glass sand—in engineering materials, reducing pressure on natural resource extraction and final disposal. In terms of toxic and chemicals of concern management, the Environmental Protection Bureau focused on source control, inspection and auditing, disaster prevention preparedness, transport management, and publicity. In 2025, the monthly reporting rate reached 100%, and 153 on-site inspections were completed for 75 regulated factories, with an inspection rate of 100%. It also handled tiered counseling visits, unannounced tests, communication tests, and green chemistry publicity.

Li Yishu stated that the double excellence awards encourage the county government team's efforts in source reduction, resource circulation, asbestos removal, toxic chemical inspections, and disaster prevention preparedness. In the future, it will continue to combine local characteristics and living venues, expand the use of renewable resources, deepen plastic reduction, and strengthen self-management and joint emergency response capabilities at toxic chemical operation sites. For the old clothing recycling industry, the rapid growth of recycling bin placement and recycling volume in local counties and cities reflects that domestic old clothing recycling capacity and back-end disposal demand are expanding simultaneously, and the role of local governments in the second-hand clothing recycling chain is continuing to increase.

Source: Nantou County's environmental protection performance receives double excellence awards from the Ministry of Environment; resource circulation and toxic chemical management achievements are outstanding, building a safe and sustainable livable city (Bulletin Board - Environmental News - Nantou County Government Environmental Protection Bureau Global Information Network) · Originally published on 2026-10-05