Greater Kaohsiung has been reducing its volume of garbage year after year by successfully giving impetus to recycling. In addition, the government has also been working hard to clean roads, clear gutters and get rid of illegally-posted adverts. The Greater Kaohsiung Environmental Protection Bureau is therefore set to reduce by one day the number of days that garbage and recycling are collected, which is currently six and three days per week respectively. The bureau will then be able to allocate more personnel to help improve the face of the city.
The bureau is worried, however, that the move might be burdensome for the average person, and is therefore planning to make a trial run in districts and boroughs that have less than 50,000 residents. The bureau will also increase public information to help people understand and accept the reduction before implementing it.
A local public opinion poll shows that 31 percent of respondents agree with reducing waste pickup to at least three days per week, while 12 percent favor at least four days, 18 percent at least five days, and 35 percent hope to maintain the current six days a week. The poll also showed a disparity among the municipality’s administrative areas, with 48 percent of the respondents who favor pickup at least three days a week being located in the old Cishan area, and 40 percent for waste pickup six days a week living in the former Kaohsiung city area.
Photo: Chang Chung-yi, Liberty Times
照片:自由時報記者張忠義
With waste collection six days a week in Greater Kaohsiung’s 31 districts, it has the highest number of collection days among any of Taiwan’s five special municipalities. Prior to the merger of former Kaohsiung city and county, waste was collected five days a week in Gangshan, Meinong, Liouguei and Neimen districts, which will remain the same, while waste in Maolin, Taoyuan and Namasia districts will be collected three days a week.
Kuo Chin-hsing, head of the bureau’s Environment Sanitation and Management Division, says that due to the limited number of sanitation workers the primary cleanup concern must be major city roads, while other streets are cleaned about three or four days a week, or once a week in some cases. Reduced waste collection, however, will permit an increase in manpower for cleaning the lesser-used roads and gutter cleanup.
Democratic Progressive Party Greater Kaohsiung councilor Chen Hui-wen suggests selecting a few districts for a practice run, which would last three months to half a year, before expanding to include the entire municipality, but only after overall effectiveness has been evaluated. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Greater Kaohsiung councilor Hsu Hui-yu, however, says that even three years after the county-city merger an urban-rural divide still exists in Greater Kaohsiung. If the reduced waste collection of five days per week is to be tested properly, it should start with the former Kaohsiung city, Hsu says, adding that if there are not any problems, then the former Kaohsiung county area should implement the reduction to keep public discontent at a minimum.
(Liberty Times, Translated by Kyle Jeffcoat)
高市成功推動資源回收,使垃圾量逐年減少,加上道路清掃、溝渠清疏、違規小廣告清除等工作加重,環保局有意將垃圾車每週收六天及資源回收週收三天,各縮短一天,將挪出人力投入市容變臉。
環保局擔心衝擊基層太大,計畫先從人口數五萬人以下的區里試辦,並加強宣導讓市民認同、接受後才會實施。
民調結果三成一民眾認為至少三天,一成二至少四天,一成八同意至少五天,另三成五仍應維持六天;民調顯示行政分區也有差異,每週至少三天以原旗山地區四成八比例較高;每週至少六天以原高雄市四成比例較高。
高雄市三十一區週收六天,是五都清運垃圾天數最多的城市,另岡山、美濃、六龜、內門等四區,縣市合併前週收五天,目前仍維持五天,茂林、桃源及那瑪夏則週收三天。
環境衛生管理科科長郭進興表示,現有清潔隊人力有限,道路清掃以主要道路為重點,次要道路約三、四天或一週清掃一次,未來垃圾清運減少的人力可增加次要道路清掃及溝渠清疏的頻率。
民進黨市議員陳慧文建議,先選擇幾個區試辦三個月或半年後,評估其成效,若可行再擴大到全市;國民黨市議員許慧玉卻認為,縣市合併三年多,仍存在城鄉差距,若要試辦垃圾週收五天,應先從原高雄市試辦,沒有問題了,才到原高雄縣實施,如此可減少民怨。
(自由時報記者方志賢)
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