I read with interest the article, "In Taiwan, take out the trash when you tune in to Beethoven's Fur Elise" (Feb 10).

Singapore's domestic recycling rate of 13 per cent in 2020 pales greatly in comparison with Taiwan's household recycling rate of more than 50 per cent.

However, I am heartened by the launch of the Recycle Right 2022 campaign here to better educate the public on what items can be recycled.

Nevertheless, there is still room for improvement, and I believe Taiwan can give us some ideas.

I look forward to receiving a recycling bin later this year (Recycling bins to be given to each household to store recyclables, Jan 15), as it will make it more convenient to recycle at home.

However, I find that there is a lack of a proper sorting mechanism in Singapore as all recyclables are deposited into the same blue recycling bin.

Taiwan's approach of having separate receptacles for different recyclable materials is a good one. It gets people accustomed to the good practice of sorting trash by material, reducing contamination by non-recyclable materials.

This makes the recycling process more cost-effective in the long run.

Also, when parents practise good recycling habits at home, their children can be positively influenced. Here in Singapore, this could complement education on recycling in school.

Perhaps Singapore could expand its recycling programme to emulate Taiwan's.

Choy Qi Hui, 18

Source: https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/forum/voices-of-youth-taiwan-a-good-recycling-role-model-to-follow