Taipei Garbage Sorting Mysteries

quote:
Originally posted by Bu Lai En:

I like this sort of population data and recently discovered a cool site called GeoHive. They have a table of population densities here.
Note that the two tables are distinguished based on countires over 5000sq kilometers (where Taiwan ranks 2nd) and under (where Taiwan isn’t even in the top ten - HK and Singapore are 10 times denser and Macau 30 something times denser).

Bri


Regarding the country listing, IMO I think Singapore should be included since it is a country despite its small size.

As with anything else, any government will first penalise the public for the huge amounts of waste and pollution produced by industry, which with its huge lobbying budget, pays next to nothing for the mess it creates.

The added advantage of taxing the symptoms without treating the cause (such as taxing two-stroke and diesel engines rather than banning them altogether) is that the government gets a nice little revenue stream going which it can then use to give further tax breaks to rich people and industry. Sounds a bit like a Marxist diatribe, but that is exactly what is happening in the UK.

Some population density figures from the end of 2000.

Yonghe 39,921 people per square km
Sanchong 23,427
Banqiao 22,843
Taipei 9,737
Gaoxiong 9,704
Taizhong 5,910
Tainan 4,183
Yilan 3,127
Jilong 2,926
Xindian 2,232
Danshui 1,643
Taidong County 70

My dreams for a house in Taidong County are rekindled…

Partial breakdown for Taipei:
Songshan district 24,486
Da’an 28,129
Wanhua 26,391
Neihu 7,758
Beitou 4,340

Surely this is not physically possible ? Wembly Arena holds about 70,000 people and is bigger than a square kilometre, I would say it is about 1.5 square kilometres, and when its full you can’t move. I used to live in Yong Ho - it can’t be that much.

Can it ?

quote:
Originally posted by hexuan: As with anything else, any government will first penalise the public for the huge amounts of waste and pollution produced by industry, which with its huge lobbying budget, pays next to nothing for the mess it creates.

The added advantage of taxing the symptoms without treating the cause (such as taxing two-stroke and diesel engines rather than banning them altogether) is that the government gets a nice little revenue stream going which it can then use to give further tax breaks to rich people and industry. Sounds a bit like a Marxist diatribe, but that is exactly what is happening in the UK.


Well, businesses contribute to the development of the economy and the country and create jobs for the public and revenue for the govt. Afterall, you don’t want to bite the hand that feeds you. Not saying it’s right, but that’s just the way it is. With numerous Taiwanese companies moving to China already, I read that the govt is becoming more hesitant at cracking down on companies who don’t meet EPA requirements since they can all just easily go to China where you can pollute whatever the hell you want as long as you’re making money. IMO I think it’s good that these highly polluting companies move there.

The public is a major contributor to pollution. People are extremely wasteful. And I read that one reason Taiwan is suffering a water shortage is because water is so cheap that people use it with no discretion whatsoever. Water prices are much lower compared to other industrialized countries, and the govt is thinking of raising them. Yeah, I think the govt should regulate scooter engine emissions and encourage the industry to develop low emission engines and invest in environmentally friendly technology. HA!! Fat chance!!! You know how long and hard it’s been for the U.S. govt to get the auto industry to do the same? It’s an incredibly long and tedious process. That’s why I think it may be easier to tax. I have no problem with the govt receiving the revenue. Tax breaks to the rich, that I have a problem with.

Originally posted by hexuan:

quote[quote]It can't be that much. Can it?[/quote] Those are the official government figures. I believe them.

Some figures from the HK government:
HK Island 16,960
Kowloon 43,510
New Territories 3,450
HK average 6,200

I think that would put Mong Kok well over 100,000 per square km.