Tourism and environment officials are calling on the public to recycle LED lights used in lanterns after Lantern Festival. In this way, the lights can then be used in art projects to promote Taiwan overseas.
More than 1 million LED lights are used every year during Lantern Festival, which is today, and officials are calling on Taiwanese to recycle the lights to help showcase the creativity and environmental awareness embraced by Taiwan’s LED manufacturing industry, which is one of the largest in the world.
Tourism Bureau Planning and Research Division Deputy Director Yang Yeong-sheng said the bureau sends lantern displays made of LED lights to countries such as Singapore, Malaysia and Canada every year.
"People from these countries continue to visit Taiwan to study the way we mix art and technology,” he said, adding that previous LED lanterns have depicted Western cartoon characters and animals from the Chinese zodiac.
Recycling Fund Management Board executive director Ma Nien-ho said the recycling program promotes environmental awareness.
Although the recycled LED batteries account for only about 0.2 percent of the roughly 3,000 tonnes of batteries recycled by the administration every year, the widespread use of LED lights in lanterns helps to give children, a sense of environmental responsibility, Ma said.
"The sooner children start to care about the planet, the more likely it is that their families will also become aware of how resources should be used,” he said.
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