I’ve heard that separating materials, although they go into the same incinerator, allows the different types to be burned at different temperatures, which allows a cleaner burn, polluting the environment much less, and making for more efficient incinerator operation as well.
Tomorrow I’m tossing two massive bags into the back of the ice-cream truck.
Neither does my neighbor.
It’s a pointless waste of time in most cases. I guess if your neighbour is actually getting money for recyclables, it’s really happening, but for example in the fast food outlets that have separate containers, at the end of the day everything is tossed together. The city I used to live in in Korea had a stringent garbage-sorting and recycling program, with stiff fines for non-compliance, but at the end of the day the garbage was all dumped together at the landfill.
I would not assume that just because the Taiwanese government starts a program, that that automatically means the program is reasonable, well-run, or useful.
I give all of my recycling to the old ladies downstairs on the streetcorner. I believe that they sell it and donate it to some charity. Pretty easy. I don’t even have to sort it. I make it to the garbage truck once a week with a big black bag or two. They don’t say much.
I used to give my recycling to the truck that follows the garbage truck. The recycling truck gut is pretty nice
everybosys nice here…
[quote=“bababa”]It’s a pointless waste of time in most cases. I guess if your neighbour is actually getting money for recyclables, it’s really happening, but for example in the fast food outlets that have separate containers, at the end of the day everything is tossed together. The city I used to live in in Korea had a stringent garbage-sorting and recycling program, with stiff fines for non-compliance, but at the end of the day the garbage was all dumped together at the landfill.
I would not assume that just because the Taiwanese government starts a program, that that automatically means the program is reasonable, well-run, or useful.[/quote]
Did your apartment overlook the landfill? How do you know this? I’m not doubting that it happens to an extent, it’s just that lots of people say this without any evidence. It’s a bit like the old one of all/most/many betel nut girls being sex workers… or of many/most high-school teachers having to buy their jobs with a hefty bribe to the principal…
I’ve been giving the whole garbage issue a bit of thought lately and my main conclusion would be this: When the government actually comes up with a halfway decent idea we should really try to play along with it. If the neighbours can profit from recycling then I will also be their patron. My only real regret is that I have to be there in person to hand in my garbage. Oh, and the music isn’t trashy enough.
Word has also come in that fines for non compliance are coming into effect. With that in mind I have finally resolved to put my toenail clippings in with the food scraps. Sort your garbage out people!
Got a question. How should food items be separated? Coffee grinds, egg shells, etc? What are the rules?
I live in Taipei City. As far as I know, food is separated into cooked and uncooked. Egg shells count as uncooked (I checked with the garbos). At my rubbish truck there are bins attached to the back of the truck. Cooked stuff goes in the red bin and the raw stuff in the blue bin.
EDIT: Coffee grinds and tea leaves count as uncooked (pigs can’t eat them). I checked with the garbos tonight.
This Taipei City Government website (old) distinguishes between pig feed and compost scraps: english.taipei.gov.tw/TCG/index.jsp?recordid=158. However, people always say to me ‘sheng’ and ‘shou’, which I assumed meant raw or cooked.
EDIT: The distinction, according to the garbos, is that cooked gets fed to pigs, and raw/compost scraps don’t. So some stuff (eg coffee grinds) that are cooked still go in the uncooked bucket coz the pigs can’t eat them.
Unfortunately there is a certain amount of ‘cha bu duo’ that goes on as far as I can see, but kudos for the effort.
[quote=“gcat”]I live in Taipei City. As far as I know, food is separated into cooked and uncooked. Egg shells count as uncooked (I checked with the garbos), I think coffee grinds count as cooked. At my rubbish truck there are bins attached to the back of the truck. Cooked stuff goes in the red bin and the raw stuff in the blue bin.
[/quote]
Before I waste my time doing this, I’m going to need actual proof that the raw stuff is going to feed pigs.
If anyone has any such evidence, please post links to it here.
[quote]Before I waste my time doing this, I’m going to need actual proof that the raw stuff is going to feed pigs.
If anyone has any such evidence, please post links to it here.[/quote]
Before I waste my time researching this, please give evidence that it doesn’t. Even if only a small percentage of household scraps get recycled, I’m going along with it.
Thanks, gcat! 
It all makes sense to me now…
no worries, but check previous post, coz i made a mistake! sorry.