WASTE NOT, WANT NOT:After retiring from the post office seven years ago, Lin Chow-chin returned to his first love — lanternmaking — but not disposable ones
Taipei Times
Date: Feb 13, 2017
By: Amber Wang / AFP, TAIPEI
As the nation lit up for the start of the Lantern Festival over the weekend, one eco-
Lantern maker Lin Chow-chin holds up a creation in Yilan on Feb. 3. Photo: Sam Yeh, AFP
friendly craftsman is breaking with tradition.
Lantern maker Lin Chow-chin is part of a growing movement to make the celebrations “greener,” creating sustainable lanterns which can be converted into anything from desk lamps to flower vases.
Each year, huge electric sculptures go on display in major cities, children carry tiny disposable lanterns and the skies fill with floating lights for the festival that marks the end of two weeks of Lunar New Year festivities.
Environmentalists say used lanterns are not properly recycled and pile up as garbage, while batteries inside them contain hazardous chemicals that cause pollution.
Lin hopes to help combat the problem by creating lanterns that owners would want to keep rather than discard. [FULL STORY]
