Garbage

• By dokuya
• 28 January, 2018
• No Comments

Garbage in Taiwan is handled differently than where I live in the USA.  In the USA we recycle.  Where I live we have 3 garbage cans and we put garbage in one, recyclables such as plastic, paper and aluminum cans in another and yard waste such as grass clipping, weeds and leaves in the other.  Garbage is put out once a week on a certain day.  Ideally 3 different trucks will pick up the garbage.  Sometime one truck picks it up and recyclables are mixed with the garbage and the sorting was a waste of time. In the USA we have garbage containers everywhere and they are big.

In Taiwan you don’t see garbage or litter, it is very clean.  You also seldom see garbage cans and when you do they are small with small openings.  It takes some getting used to but when you buy something you are often left holding the bag meaning that you are stuck with the garbage.  Where I live in Taiwan a garbage truck goes by once a day.  People listen for the music that the truck plays and they run out with their garbage bags and throw them into the truck.

Some communities (housing complexes) recycle their own garbage.  I live in a community that does it.  Each recyclable is separated by the person who is disposing of the garbage.  There are a lot of categories so need to keep it separate  as you generate it.  When I take the garbage out I pay close attention to the disposal.  They also have a camera in the garbage room and if there is a separation problem they can determine who failed to follow the rules.  Check out the photos of my community’s garbage room.  Not shown is an area for discarded clothing and furniture.

Also in places like McDonalds expect to separate your own garbage into food waste, liquid waste, cups, paper plastic and general waste.

The goal is zero waste and no landfills, it takes cooperation from everyone to achieve a goal like that.