Print

Mail

wiki links

Agency picks city cleaner as its Person of the Year

A city cleaner in Taitung County was named 2007 Person of the Year by the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) on Tuesday.
The agency chose Chao Pin (趙彬) in recognition of his hard work and dedication. Chao, 48, a mechanic by training, has been with Taitung County's environmental protection bureau in Beinan Township (卑南) for 13 years.
"Like Angus MacGyver from the popular 1980's TV show, Chao has always applied his skills and knowledge to his job, dazzling his coworkers and supervisor," said Wen Hsiu-hui (溫修慧), a specialist at the EPA's Bureau of Environmental Inspection.
Wen described Chao as a man "full of ideas [who] cannot seem to sit still without fixing something."
"What is even more impressive is that Chao has never taken a day off from work: He volunteers to repair the cleaning squad's equipment during his days off and brainstorms for ideas to make a better job for both his colleagues and the township people they serve," she said.
One of the most talked about of Chao's "wonders" was his successful transformation of a dilapidated garbage truck into a functioning recycling pick-up van, saving the local government the cost of buying a new van and Beinan residents the inconvenience of having no recycling truck, she said.
In a telephone interview with the Taipei Times, Chao said he was "merely doing his job by making things flow smoothly for his team captain."
"I save the scrap metal that our recycling vans pick up and use it to patch things when needed -- you can save a lot of resources and money that way," he said.
The Beinan MacGyver services the county, which is a prime tourist destination during the Lunar New Year.
"That means Chao and his team would probably be too busy to enjoy their Lunar New Year's Eve meal," Wen said.
This story has been viewed 2177 times.