Page 131 - Tzu Chi Q&A_First Edition

Environmental Protection Tzu Chi’s recycling stations welcome schools, busi-
nesses, or government agencies to organize trips for
9-1 their students or employees to learn more about en-
vironmental protection and experience sorting recy-
When did Tzu Chi start promoting clables firsthand.
environmental protection?
In August 1990, Master Cheng Yen was invited to A Tzu Chi volunteer ex-
plains Tzu Chi’s recycling
give a speech in Taichung, central Taiwan. When work to Stan Shih
she was there, she passed through a street littered (standing second from
with trash everywhere and became very concerned right), founder of Acer
Inc., at Tzu Chi’s recy-
about the environment of Taiwan. During her speech cling station in Neihu,
later that day, when being constantly interrupted by Taipei, Taiwan.
applause, Master Cheng Yen thought of the trash- (Zeng Dong-yang)
strewn street she saw earlier and took the chance to
encourage the audience to collect recyclables from 9-3
trash with the hands they were applauding her with.
A woman took her words to heart and started col- How many recyclables do Tzu Chi volunteers
lecting recyclables and encouraging her neighbors collect a year?
to do the same. Her example inspired many Tzu Chi Take Taiwan for example, in 2016 alone, Tzu Chi’s re-
volunteers across Taiwan to follow suit, setting forth cycling volunteers collected over 95,000 metric tons
Tzu Chi’s effort in environmental protection. of recyclables, including paper, glass, iron, alumi-
num, copper, plastics,
9-2
second-hand cloth-
How many recycling stations and recycling ing, and so on.
volunteers does Tzu Chi have? Parents take their children
to learn how to sort recycla-
As of 2016, Tzu Chi had 105,457 recycling volunteers bles at one of Tzu Chi’s recy-
as well as 548 recycling stations and 10,204 recycling cling stations in New Taipei
points in 16 countries and regions around the globe. City, Taiwan. (Lin Wen-zhi)

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