Waste management in Taiwan
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/69/DEPTC_221-BV_on_Beiping_East_Road_20150811.jpg/220px-DEPTC_221-BV_on_Beiping_East_Road_20150811.jpg)
Waste management in Taiwan refers to the management and disposal of waste in Taiwan. It is regulated by the Department of Waste Management of the Ministry of Environment of the Executive Yuan.
History
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/15/NTPC-EPD_287-R5_20161117.jpg/220px-NTPC-EPD_287-R5_20161117.jpg)
Waste management was not centrally regulated during the early years of Meiji era Japan.[1] In 1900, enacted the Sewage Disposal Law,[2] the Waste Cleaning Act,[1] and the Dirt Removal Law.[3] The legislation was aimed at improving sanitation in Japanese cities[3] and made waste disposal a municipal responsibility.[3][1][2] At the time, Taiwan was a territory of Japan.
Under the Republic of China,
Recyclables were reclassified into eight groups: containers, tires, pesticide containers, lubricant oil, lead-acid batteries, vehicles, home appliances, and communication products. Each of these materials were the responsibility of one commission, and the commissions themselves were overseen by the
Waste collection and disposal
People are responsible for bringing their own trash to the collection point.[13][14] In some areas such as Taipei City, nonrecyclables must be collected in colour-coded bags that can be bought at convenience stores.[6][7][15] Raw food waste is processed to be further used as fertilizer by farmers.[16] Cooked food waste is processed to be further turned into food for livestock.[6][17] Not all recyclables are collected daily; the most common recyclables have a specially designated pickup day.[18] There are 33 items considered recyclable, which in turn fall into 13 categories.[19]
Garbage collection trucks are known to play music to alert people of their presence at collection points. Songs played include Tekla Bądarzewska-Baranowska's "Maiden's Prayer" and Ludwig van Beethoven's "Für Elise."[14][20][21] Starting in 2003, recycling trucks played Hou Dejian's composition, "Any Empty Wine Bottles for Sale?" as first recorded by Su Rui for the 1983 film Papa, Can You Hear Me Sing.[22] Christmas music is played during Christmas, and at Chinese New Year, recordings of Chinese traditional tunes play.[23] Local governments have occasionally changed the garbage collection song.[24][25] Other prerecorded tracks played on the trucks include short English-language lessons.[20][26]
Power generation
In 2016, 76.8% of
Recycling facilities
Incinerators
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0a/Taipei_Taiwan_Muzha-Refuse-Incineration-Plant-01.jpg/220px-Taipei_Taiwan_Muzha-Refuse-Incineration-Plant-01.jpg)
Incomplete list of incinerators in Taiwan. Please expand this list and correct it, if necessary.
Facility | City | Capacity | Electric Power Output | Height of smokestack | Year of inauguration | Coordinates | Remarks | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Beitou | Taipei | 1800 tons/d | 48 MW | 150 m | 1999 | 25.1080104439 N 121.49946548 E | chimney with observation deck and restaurant | |
Neihu | Taipei | 900 tons/d | 144 MW | 73 m | 1991 | 25.06314835 N 121.605538 E | ||
Muzha | Taipei | 1200 tons/d | 13.5 MW | 147 m | 1994 | 25.00501321 N 121.5876559 E | ||
Bali | New Taipei City | 1350 tons/d | 35.7 MW | 150.5 m | 2001 | 25.134266 N 121.367760 E | ||
Shulin | New Taipei City | 450 tons/d | 22.3 MW | 118 m | 1995 | 24.967268 N 121.380041 E | ||
Taichung | Taichung | 900 tons/d | 26.2 MW | 120 m | 1995 | 24.152714 N 120.598019 E | ||
Chengxi | Tainan | 900 tons/d | 14.3 MW | 124 m | 1999 | 23.0455158597 N 120.07444869 E | ||
Renwu | Kaohsiung | 1350 tons/d | 150 MW | 118.8 m | 2000 | 22.699823 N 120.368902 E | ||
Keelung | Keelung | 600 tons/d | 15.8 MW | 100 m | 2005 | 25.122733 N 121.775569 E | ||
Kanting | Pingtung City | 900 tons/d | 22.5 MW | 100 m | 2000 | 22.4997393 N 120.49855 E | ||
His-Chou | Changhua City | 900 tons/d | 22.6 MW | 118.3 m | 2000 | 23.8264892 N 120.4603268 E | ||
Chiayi | Chiayi City | 300 tons/d | 2.4 MW | 68 m | 1998 | 23.444114 N 120.44146 E | ||
Hsinchu City | Hsinchu City | 900 tons/d | 23.7 MW | 67 m | 2000 | 24.834300 N 120.916464 E | ||
Lutsao | Lucao, Chiayi | 900 tons/d | 120 m | 2001 | 23.449194 N 120.280361 E | |||
Miaoli | Zhunan | 500 tons/d | 11.8 MW | 70 m | 24.673268 N 120.835812 E | |||
Gangshan | Kaohsiung | 1350 tons/d | 38 MW | 60 m | 2001 | 22.810874 N 120.270397 E | ||
Xindian | New Taipei City | 900 tons/d | 14.6 MW | 120 m | 1994 | 24.958135 N 121.49713 E | ||
Yongkang | Tainan | 900 tons/d | 22.5 MW | 100 m | 2008 | 23.039436 N 120.282977 E | ||
Taitung | Taitung | 300 tons/d | 2005 | 22.731026 N 121.13579 E | ||||
Kaohsiung | Kaohsiung | 900 tons/d | 25.5 MW | 100 m | 1999 | 22.664982 N 120.331439 E | ||
Kaohsiung South | Kaohsiung | 1800 tons/d | 49 MW | 87.6 m | 2000 | 22.549339 N 120.377224 E | ||
Houli | Houli District | 900 tons/d | 26.2 MW | 120 m | 2000 | 24.287653 N 120.697330 E | ||
Taoyuan | Taoyuan | 1350 tons/d | 35.1 MW | 80 m | 2001 | 24.992175 N 121.249752 E | ||
Wujih | Taichung | 900 tons/d | 100 m | 2004 | 24.096227 N 120.619615 E | |||
Lizer | Luodom | 600 tons/d | 14.7 MW | 120 m | 2005 | 24.661161 N 121.835675 E | ||
Yunlin | Linnei | 300 tons/d | 2005 | 23.7709175 N 120.609016 E ? |
References
- ^ a b c "History and Current State of Waste Management in Japan" (PDF). Ministry of the Environment. 2014. Retrieved 2020-07-16.
- ^ a b "The Japanese industrial waste experience: Lessons for rapidly industrializing countries" (PDF). United Nations Environmental Programme. 2013. Retrieved 2020-07-18.
- ^ a b c Hezri, A.A. (2009). "11: Toward 3R-Based Waste Management: Policy Change in Japan, Malaysia and the Philippines". 3R Policies for Southeast and East Asia (PDF). p. 277.
- ^ a b c Houng, Harvey. "Policies and Measures of Waste Disposal and Treatment in Taiwan". Pacific Economic Cooperation Council. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
- ^ "Taiwan's Recycling Boom: A Shining Example for Asia, the World". The Diplomat. 3 December 2013. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
- ^ a b c Chen, Kathy (17 May 2016). "Taiwan: The World's Geniuses of Garbage Disposal". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
- ^ a b Rossi, Marcello (3 January 2019). "How Taiwan Has Achieved One of the Highest Recycling Rates in the World". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
- ^ ISSN 2162-2906.
- ^ a b c Fan, Kuo-Shuh. "Management and Performance of Chinese Taipei's Waste Recycling Fund". Pacific Economic Cooperation Council. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
- ^ Nunns, Cain (29 November 2013). "Short on Space, Taiwan Embraces a Boom in Recycling". New York Times. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
- ^ a b "The Art of Managing Waste". Taiwan Today. 1 June 1996. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
- ^ "EPA touts Taiwan's successful recycling policy". Taiwan Today. 23 August 2012. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
- ^ Lee, Wendy (22 March 2017). "Taiwan's garbage disposal system gets praise from foreign media". Taiwan News. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
- ^ a b Davidson, Helen; Lin, Chu Hui (26 December 2022). "Classical trash: how Taiwan's musical bin lorries transformed 'garbage island'". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
The "garbage doesn't touch the ground" policy requires residents to bring trash directly out of their homes to the trucks, resulting in more hygienic streets in Taiwan's sweaty climate. Compulsory, government-issued bin bags – priced at less than 1p per litre – have reduced Taipei's household refuse by two-thirds, the director of the city's environmental protection bureau says...The songs are a key pillar of the system. How they were chosen is subject to a bit of folklore. On a recent Taiwan-focused podcast, Formosa Files, the cohost John Ross said the songs were preloaded on to trucks bought from Japan in the 1960s, and that later attempts to add other songs – including sea shanties and English lessons – were too confusing. Liou, however, says the trucks were bought from Germany and only played Für Elise. He can't explain where A Maiden's Prayer came from. The rumour inside the department is that a former director heard his daughter play it and added it to the playlist.
- ^ Ross, Julia (2 December 2007). "What I Picked Up About Trash in Taipei". Washington Post. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
- ^ Msibi, Mphikeleli (15 December 2016). "Taiwan, the country that knows no garbage". The Swazi Observer. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
- ^ Jennings, Ralph (23 March 2016). "In Taiwan, leftover food scraps help farmers sustain porky appetites". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
- ^ "Close-Up: Taiwan's musical garbage trucks". BBC. 23 January 2011. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
- ^ "Workshop Materials on WEEE Management in Taiwan" (PDF). Environmental Protection Agency. October 2012. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
- ^ a b Qin, Amy; Chiang Chien, Amy (8 February 2022). "When You Hear Beethoven, It's Time to Take Out the Trash (and Mingle)". New York Times. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
- ^ Nien, Hsiang-wan; Yang, Ming-yi; Chin, Jonathan (23 August 2016). "Garbage trucks disrupt classical concert". Retrieved 13 April 2017.
- ^ Chiu, Yu-Tzu (25 June 2003). "EPA changes tune in bid to promote national recycling". Taipei Times. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
- ^ Hickman, Matt (9 January 2012). "Taiwan Garbage Trucks: Classical Music Accompanies Collection (VIDEO)". Hufffington Post. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
- ^ "Pingtung residents lamenting change of garbage truck song". China Post. 20 November 2010. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
- ^ Tung, Chen-kuo; Chiu, Chih-jou; Chung, Jake (3 August 2013). "Renai Township trash collectors get a new tune". Taipei Times. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
- ^ Phipps, Gavin (7 September 2002). "Tainan's garbage is fine, thank you". Taipei Times. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
- ^ "Taiwan Power Company Sustainability Report 2017" (PDF). Taipower. p. 108. Retrieved 29 March 2018.