In the 1990’s Taipei, the capital of Taiwan faced a large trash issue. Previously nicknamed “Garbage island” due to large trash build-up and overflow, the island is now one of the cleanest in the world. This drastic change is due to a waste management system implemented on a large-scale level.
This system, which was implemented at the height of the problem in the 1990s, forced residents to come face to face with the trash they produce. The system required residents to buy a government-issued trash bag that required them to “Pay As You Throw”, effectively reducing the amount of waste each individual produces and disposes of.
To collect the trash, thousands of stopping points were assigned. Each individual was responsible for coming to their assigned spot at their assigned time and giving their trash to the trash and recycling truck that stopped there. To signal the truck's arrival, the city uses a rendition of Beethoven’s “Für Elise”. To enforce this system, public trash cans were removed and those caught littering were given heavy fines. Today, Taiwan is among the world's leaders in the least waste produced per person.
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Additionally, this system has created a stronger community on the island. By forcing neighbors to exit their houses into a shared space, the system has indirectly created a social culture around disposing of trash. Beyond social, the system has been used to spread ideas and beliefs across the island, strengthening their democracy. Before past elections, candidates have followed the trash trucks, campaigning at each stop they make.
While the system has proven widely successful in diminishing and managing the island’s waste, the system does not lack critics. For some, the system is inconvenient as they have said they have had to schedule their lives around dumping their trash. For some, this means making excuses to leave work early in order to make their assigned trash time. Others simply complain the music is too loud. The Covid-19 pandemic also raised new concerns. As the system is largely social, the system became a possible way to transmit the virus to large groups of people. However, residents reported that the majority of people took extra precautions, such as masks, and did not see the system create large health and safety concerns.
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