As for using garbage for compost, this approach also boasts a long history. In the 1970s, Taiwan built more than 20 composting sites. However, the poor quality of the compost produced from unsorted garbage made it inferior to chemical fertilizers, which were cheap and of good quality. Farmers gradually came to rely on chemical fertilizers, and processors of organic refuse went out of business as sales stagnated.
至於垃圾作成堆肥，也有久遠的歷史，民國六十年代台灣曾經興建過二十多座堆肥廠，但因為以不分類的垃圾製成的堆肥品質不佳，不敵價廉物美的化學肥料，農民便逐漸依賴化學肥料，有機廢棄物的肥料因滯銷而陸續關廠。