The annual Earth Day clean-ups along coastal and mountainous areas in Taiwan are to be commended for the sentiment driving them and the commitment of the volunteers that take part. However, they also bring into focus the root cause of the problem that such efforts were trying to tackle.
On Saturday, the day before Earth Day, initiatives to clean up garbage washed in on currents or left by visitors were organized around the nation, including along the coast at Taoyuan, in Tainan and on Hehuanshan (合歡山) in Nantou County.
In Taoyuan, about 1,000 people, led by Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦), tackled Syucuo Harbor (許厝港) and Jhuwei Fishing Harbor (竹圍漁港), collecting a total of 3.4 tonnes of garbage and 600kg of recyclable waste from the beaches and 630.7kg of trash from the water.
Encouraging volunteers to participate in keeping the coastal areas clean is part of a concerted drive by the Taoyuan City Government.
The city in a press release on Saturday said that it launched regular clean-up activities last year, and has since organized 305 beach clean-ups involving a total of almost 20,000 participants cleaning up 157 tonnes of garbage.
On March 15, the city government opened a coastal administration office to deal with coastal matters.
While Taoyuan Department of Environmental Protection Director Shen Chih-hsiu (沈志修) said in the release that the Taoyuan coastline stretches for 46km and marine litter flowing in is an international issue, no one can pretend that it is not also an issue of littering by members of the public.
According to the Tainan Environmental Protection Bureau, Saturday’s clean-up yielded 220kg of beverage cups at just two of the city’s tourist attractions.
The Nantou Forest District Office reported that the 150 people in the clean up in Hehuanshan removed 700kg of trash in just three hours.
All this garbage left behind in parks, tourist spots and on mountain trails is not an international issue. It did not drop from the sky. It was left behind by thoughtless people who would rather litter than take their trash home with them or otherwise dispose of properly.
According to the Yushan National Park Headquarters, from 2014 to December last year, volunteers collected a total of 1,057kg of garbage from the mountain, and regular clean-up trips over the past few years by park staff have yielded an average of 250kg per trip.
Just as plastic marine litter is a problem — not because it is unsightly — but because of the damage it does to marine wildlife and the ocean ecology, garbage left behind in mountains is problematic because of the effects it has on wildlife and the environment.
It is great that some people are willing to volunteer their time to pick up garbage to benefit local residents or visitors hoping to enjoy the beauty of the outdoors unmarred by disposable cups, used tissue paper, plastic bags and bottles.
In dealing with marine litter, initiatives such as reducing the production of disposable plastic bags, cups, containers and straws, is the way to go: Cut the problem off at the source.
The problem of littering in towns and mountainous areas is caused by people who think that it is okay to dump their garbage, instead of taking it home or discarding it in a bin. The answer lies in public education, and changing people’s attitudes.
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