Taipei Trash and Recycling: A Quick and Easy Guide - The News Lens International Edition

Taipei Trash and Recycling: A Quick and Easy Guide - The News Lens International Edition 25/3/24, 12:48 PM
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Taipei Trash and Recycling: A Quick and

Easy Guide
2019/04/17 • Lifestyle
https://international.thenewslens.com/article/117330 Page 1 of 14
Photo Credit: AP / TPG Images
Stefan Simon  !
Stefan Simon has a background in Environmental Science and has been

doing research on air pollution for National Taiwan University and…
Academia Sinica in Taipei. At COLLECTIVE GREEN he shares inspiring
green stories and eye-opening environmental information from all over
What you need to know
Wondering how Taiwan's garbage and recycling systems really work?
Look no further.
Taiwan has become a global leader in recycling, with one of the

highest recycling rates in the world! The country manages to recycle
more than 50% of it’s municipal waste and is thereby only a little bit
behind the world’s leading nation for recycling, Germany, and much
in front of the United states.
For people coming to Taiwan for the first time the garbage collection
system might seem to be a bit tricky and difficult to grasp.
COLLECTIVE GREEN will help you with this short guide on trash
disposal in Taipei and a brief illustration of Taiwan’s garbage
collection system. At the same time, I want to call upon all of you to
produce as little trash as possible!
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Many countries, including Taiwan, have implemented progressive

plastic reduction policies in recent years, and many companies are
voluntarily creating their own plastic reduction plans. Green News
Taiwan reported the success of the implementation of plastic bans
in the country, proofing that such measures can certainly reduce the
use of plastic bags. I have shared a few ways of how to reduce
plastic and I will share more information in the future. Stay tuned
and follow me!
First of all you have to know, that you can’t just use any kind of bag
to dispose your trash in Taipei. You will need to buy specific trash
bags, in different colors, depending on where you live. You can buy
these bags in most convenient stores, such as 7-Eleven. For Taipei
City these bags are blue, if you live in New Taipei City they are pink.
There are different sizes and prices for the designated garbage bags
in Taipei City. These bags are only for general trash and their prices
help to cover the costs of the waste disposal system, brilliantly
participating citizens on public waste disposal and ideally
encouraging people to produce less trash (read more about the The
4-in-1 Recycling Program).
After you have your colored trash bags for the general trash ready,
you can think about where to collect your recycled good. I suggest
you to already separate them in different containers at home. The
recycle truck will take the items even if they aren’t separated, but
they do appreciate it if you separate them.
The Regulated Recyclable Wastes in 33 Items of 13 Categories from the
website of Taiwan's Environmental Protection Administration.
There are different categories, mainly it’s: general trash, clean

plastic bags, paper, glass, clean styrofoam, cans, containers
(aluminium or metal), small home appliances and organic waste
(separated into (1) fruit & vegetable, (2) rice & bread). For most
materials the recycle truck accepts the raw material, as well as the
processed material, such as plain paper and paper container. Not all
types of plastic are recyclable, for most plastic containers and
products you can check through the recycling triangle and plastic
code on the package to identify the type of plastic.
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“ Can containers be recycled even if they have been soiled

with food?
The cleaner your containers, the better for the recycling

process. At municipal facilities items are sorted by type
(paper, plastic, glass, etc.), before they get processed.
Pollutants (e.g. oily food) or wrong materials (e.g. napkins in
the recycling bin) in the system will at least cause an
increase of recycling costs for the facilities. In the worst case
the contaminated can cause rejection at the facilities, so that
the material is sent to be burnt or to landfills.
Washing your items before the recycling might feel like a
waste of water, but it helps a lot with the recycling process.
Items can be rinsed when you do your everyday dish
washing, which takes no extra water and almost no time.
After you have all your clean items ready to get recycled, the next
step will be the pick-up. Normally there are two trucks. One is for
”
regular trash, the other one for recyclables and food waste.
Credit: Stefan Simon
Credit: Stefan Simon
The trash trucks move through Taipei on certain routes on a certain

schedule. Here are the garbage collection routes and times for
different districts in Taipei City.
The weekly pick-up times are the same, but not every day has a
pick-up. The trucks usually come on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday,
Friday and Saturday, but not on Wednesday and Sunday. Also there
might be pick-ups of different category goods on different days.
The arrival of the trash car will be announced by the “Für Elise”
melody, when you hear the sounds you have few minutes left to
grab your stuff and run down to the truck. If you don’t want to rush
to get your trash on the car before it leaves, stick to the scheduled
times and be there before the truck arrives.
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If you live in a big building, they might have their own service for
that, so it might also be a good idea to check with your landlord.
Generally I think it is a great idea to ask a neighbor when you meet
them in the hallway or see them waiting for the truck on the street.
You can get to know them as well as learn something new. Taking
out the trash in Taiwan is kind of a community activity and has
probably reinforced collective sanitation responsibility. It has also
become a point for neighbors to meet each other.
What many people might not know is, that there are also fixed sites
where you can go and bring your trash in case the trash cars
schedule doesn’t fit yours. Here you find those appointed garbage
collection and resource (including kitchen waste) recycling locations
for Taipei City and for New Taipei City.
“ Where does the trash go?
General trash goes to landfills or Incineration Plants (such as

in Neihu or Muzha).
Recycling requires complex processes and faces many

challenges, unfortunately recycled plastic garbage can end
up being incinerated despite local residents’ efforts.
A huge amount of global recycled material ends up being

shipped to Asia, including Taiwan. China, the world’s largest
importer and recycler of scrap metals, plastic and paper, has
decided it will no longer take what it calls “foreign garbage”,
and is set to ban imports of 24 types of waste. This may
force industrialized countries to recycle more of their own
waste.
This all might sound very complicated and much of a hustle, but it
actually really isn’t! Don’t be lazy and toss your trash into public
”
trash cans or on the streets! Taiwan offers a nice, efficient recycling
system, so please make use of it and separate your trash. It doesn’t
take much of an effort and it’s good for the planet.
More information about trash disposal and recycling you can get
from the Department of Environmental Protection, Taipei City
Government.
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Follow COLLECTIVE GREEN on Facebook for more green

information, ideas, practices, activities and initiatives promoting
sustainable, eco-friendly, resource-saving ways of life.
Read Next: Taiwan’s Waste Reduction Miracle
This article from COLLECTIVE GREEN has been republished by The

News Lens with permission. It was originally published here.
Editor: Nick Aspinwall (@Nick1Aspinwall)
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Taipei Trash and Recycling: A Quick and Easy Guide - The News Lens International Edition 25/3/24, 12:48 PM

Company Team Work With Us Press

Environment Military Science Arts & Culture Economy Health Societ

Taipei Trash and Recycling: A Quick and

Photo Credit: AP / TPG Images

Stefan Simon has a background in Environmental Science and has been

Taiwan has become a global leader in recycling, with one of the

Many countries, including Taiwan, have implemented progressive

The Regulated Recyclable Wastes in 33 Items of 13 Categories from the

website of Taiwan's Environmental Protection Administration.

There are different categories, mainly it’s: general trash, clean

“ Can containers be recycled even if they have been soiled

The cleaner your containers, the better for the recycling

Credit: Stefan Simon

Credit: Stefan Simon

The trash trucks move through Taipei on certain routes on a certain

“ Where does the trash go?

General trash goes to landfills or Incineration Plants (such as

Recycling requires complex processes and faces many

A huge amount of global recycled material ends up being

Follow COLLECTIVE GREEN on Facebook for more green

Read Next: Taiwan’s Waste Reduction Miracle

This article from COLLECTIVE GREEN has been republished by The

Editor: Nick Aspinwall (@Nick1Aspinwall)

# Recycling # Taiwan waste # Taiwan recycling

Edition : 中⽂版 • ⽇本版

About The News Lens

Company Team Work With Us Press

Privacy Policy Terms of Use

Terms of Service for Paid Content

Statement of Editorial Independence

Copyright © 2024 TNL Mediagene

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