The number of trash bags littering Taipei’s streets has increased 80 percent from last year, the Taipei Department of Environmental Protection said, after it removed many public trash bins earlier this year.
The department in March began reducing the number of roadside trash bins in the city, from more than 3,000 to about 1,000, citing disease transmission concerns, as people were throwing masks or household trash in them.
However, the policy was questioned by many city councilors.
A Taipei City Research Development and Evaluation Commission survey released in September also showed that 74 percent of Taipei residents agreed there should be roadside trash bins, while 21 percent disagreed.
After the number of public trash bins was reduced, the number of trash bags found in the streets rose, the department said earlier this week, adding that while 4,284 trash bags were found from January to September last year, 7,714 were found over the same period this year — an increase of 80 percent.
The total fines imposed for these littering cases has reached about NT$9.78 million (US$339,030), higher than the NT$7.87 million imposed in the same period last year, the department added.
Among the city’s 12 administrative districts, the trash bag littering problem is more serious in Wanhua (萬華), Neihu (內湖) and Shilin (士林) districts, with imposed fines reaching millions of New Taiwan dollars from January to September in these three districts alone, it said.
The most serious littering problem was along Huanshan Road Sec 2 in Neihu District, as 145 trash bags were found in the streets in the first eight months of this year.
The department said that the section of road is near Taipei Municipal Lishan High School and pedestrian-only trash bins are installed there, so some people dispose of their household trash in them.
Other hot spots include Huanghe S Road Sec 3 in Wanhua District, Zhongxiao E Road Sec 5 in Hsinyi District (信義) and Roosevelt Road Sec 4 in Zhongzheng District (中正), especially near MRT railway stations, bus stops and shopping districts, it said.
Citing the broken windows theory, the department said that many people were likely encouraged to dispose of their household trash in roadside trash bins after they saw other people doing so.
The number of public trash bins in the city has now increased to 1,811, which might be adjusted in the future, the department said, adding that the number of trash bins installed near MRT stations, bus stops and shopping areas cannot be reduced, and might even have to be increased, but they easily become hot spots for littering.
As littering offenders could face a fine NT$1,200 to NT$6,000, the department encouraged people to report those who dispose of their trash bags in the streets, as they might receive 75 percent of the imposed fine as a reward.
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to