From Garbage Island to Recycling Model - Who Knew?

Move aside politics - Taiwan's recycling program is as patriotic as it gets and is rivaling the world.

The island is small – about 1/8^th the size of the state of Colorado. (12,456 sq miles), with a population of 23,847,385 people.  And it learned its lesson years ago when garbage piles filled cities and garbage dumps were nearing full capacity.

Known at the time as “Garbage Island”, Taiwan had a crisis on its hands. In 1993 nearly nothing was recycled. Two thirds of the landfills were already reaching the breaking point.

Today the streets are clean from rubbish. More trash is recycled than not. In Taipei, a whopping 67% of its trash is recycled. And citizens are proud to participate and quick to criticize (kindly remind) if you are less than exemplary in your disposal practices.

Für Elise drifts through the air each day as bright yellow garbage trucks come to your neighborhood corner, as regular as clock work, announcing their arrival. Our neighborhood trucks arrive precisely at 8:41 pm. I can set my watch by it. They have never been one minute early or late. How do they do that?? These are our neighborhood trucks, as seen from our apartment window. 8:41 pm. Right on time. 

I tried to throw some trash away once, joining the cheerful neighborhood group that had gathered around the truck, but was not aware of the complex system of recyclables and cute colored bag schemes. That’s where the cuteness vanished. Someone from the crowd quickly came to my side and, loudly gesturing, explained, I guess, what the procedures for proper disposal were.  Of course, I didn’t understand a word.

In addition to the trucks, there are bins of various colors and sizes and for various purposes. I learned I was to use a specific type of blue plastic bag for regular trash, which would go into the truck. Then I was to pour my pre-sorted glass, paper, cardboard, cans and plastic into various other bins. My raw food waste was to go into a blue plastic barrel (no bags – just the food – people were opening tied up plastic bags and emptying the slurried contents into the barrel) – and the cooked food waste into another.

If that wasn’t complicated enough, the recycling then gets sorted into metal, aluminum, paper plates, plastic containers, batteries, car parts, tires, batteries, computer parts, electrical parts, etc. There are 33 various recycling categories processed in more than 1600 recycling centers all over the island! 

The raw food gets collected and processed into fertilizer for farmers. The cooked food gets turned into farm animal feed.

My head dizzied in response to the process and the assertive explanations by my Neighborhood Watch "friend". I’m afraid I’m not quite “there” yet. Feeling embarrassed, I've just thrown our trash in the Church dumpsters ever since.....crazy Americans!

In Taipei City, to encourage people to engage in these programs, you have to pay for the blue colored bags for general household trash.  But if you dump recycling items – there is no cost. The more you recycle, the less you pay. It works. Most of the time.

For those caught infringing the rules, there is public shaming and hefty fines waiting.

Recycling and going organic are extremely popular here.  There’s a sense of patriotism about it all. No insecticides, no chemicals, no plastic wastes, cleaner streets, healthier people. They are generally very proud of their progress and success as a nation.

The poor and elderly collect recyclables for extra cash. Photo below - not far from where we live, this motorcycle-turned-recycling-truck daily converges on this spot to collect recyclables from the neighbors to turn in for extra cash.

Below: another collection point not far from our apartment: (by the way - the Taiwan Mango Snowflake Ice place as seen in the photo is highly recommended if you ever come to Taiwan!) 

From garbage island to recycling model. Taiwan rivals the world in a sustainable approach to environmental responsibility. 

So how would YOU recycle rusty fans and worn out garden gloves?

With orchids? Who knew???

A Typical Day for the Housing Coordinators

 Follow us on our trip to Guangfu, Hualien.

It's 8:00 am. The serene mountains east of Taipei are always stunning, especially in the early morning with the mists and low hanging clouds creating an iconic panoramic view as we cruise along the highway.

We are on our way to Guangfu to close out an empty missionary apartment.

It's only 126 miles to Guangfu, but it'll take 4 hours to get there. It's shorter now than when we first came to Taiwan. Now there are 24 kilometers made up of a series of 15 tunnels, somewhat straightening out the winding, narrow mountainous roads to Hualien and points south, including Guangfu.

The tunnels are rather hypnotic, kilometer after kilometer of stripes and lights passing our view.

The drive includes an 18 kilometer-long freeway-bridge through the remote parts of Yilan County. We pass over small towns intermixed with rice paddies which are filed to the brim with water - ready for the first planting which will occur in a few weeks.

Fortunately for adventurous travelers, some of the mountainous roads are still part of the beautiful and amazing trip to the east coast of Taiwan. 

Hualien County is beautiful, but it's the drive that's amazing!

We arrive in Guangfu around 12:30 pm. Guangfu is a small sleepy town. The missionary "apartment" here is actually a three story five bedroom house. It's been empty for some time. It'll take a lot of work to get it cleaned up and ready to turn over to the landlord. We change into work clothes and get to work.

The van gets full to the brim with mattresses, desks, chairs, boxes, bags, fans, a microwave, heaters, and several bags of garbage. 

The house is cold and damp, with peeling paint, cement walls, and interesting former occupants. When the elders lived there, they caught this lovely lady.

A huntsman spider - generally harmless, but huge

Fortunately for us, the only resident we found was a former resident..... a mold-covered dried up gecko.

The toilets were typical of ones found in many places throughout Taiwan. Though they appear like Western toilets, their function-ability is not quite the same. These signs are seen less and less, but are still quite common throughout the country. A trash can is always nearby to collect used  items.....

A not-too-bad nights sleep on a rock hard mattress in the cold, damp house, and we're ready to finish up and meet with the landlord.

Thank you to an amazing local senior couple who came to help with the translation needs. They are serving not far from here and have done amazing work bringing several families to Christ in this part of the vineyard.

Then it's time to welcome the landlord and complete negotiations. If everything goes well, we get the full deposit back.

Landlord checking the contract, bills, and keys

Today was one of those days. All is well.

The senior couple invites us to lunch. We go to the Li Chuan Aquafarm - home of the "world's best freshwater clams." We dine on clams, water lotus greens, and sweet and sour red snapper. The clams and red snapper are harvested right there at the aquafarm. Talk about fresh!

For 100 Kuai (about $3.57 US dollars) you can load up a container with as many fresh clams as you can find to take home for dinner. Children love the adventure of digging through the muddy water to find each clam.

Or playing with the fish.

After lunch, we stop off at the Hualien Elders apartment to swap dryers so they can have one that works, fix a washing machine leak, and encourage a thorough apartment cleaning (!!).

Hualien coastline

Then comes the arduous, but beautiful,
drive back home, and the unloading of the stuffed van into the mission storage area. The mattresses, dryer, desks, chairs, bags, garbage, heaters, etc. all come back out and are tucked away in their proper places.

It's been a long two days but a great trek. 

We work behind-the-scenes here at the mission, and are grateful for the opportunity to support the marvelous work the young missionaries do in the forefront. 

After all this work, it's time for a great P-day activity!  Next blog!

Compliant and Free

As you probably know, Taiwan does not have a COVID-19 problem.

Taiwan has gone over 200 consecutive days without open COVID on the streets.

Courtesy of Flickr.com - Othree

But you know what?  You just can’t compare apples to…. well…. to noodles!  There is no comparison. None at all. You can't compare the situation in the US to Taiwan. For one thing, Taiwan is basically 1/3^rd the size of the state of Colorado. It is also surrounded by water. You have to fly or swim to get there.                            

Hualien coastline

Virtually the only way to enter the country is through the airports. You must have permission. You probably need a visa. To get a visa requires the country allowing you to come for a good reason. If you are from America and a few other countries, to get a visa also requires a “within-three-days-of-travel negative COVID test.”

Getting disinfected at airport

Once you arrive at the airport, even if you come with a negative COVID test, you are sprayed down with disinfectant, and whisked away to mandatory isolated quarantine for 14 days.

You do not leave your quarantine apartment. At all. Food is brought to you. The government checks on you daily. In many cases, you are required to undergo several additional COVID tests – just in case.  All this at your own expense. Anyone testing positive in these additional tests is immediately taken to a hospital for isolated observation and care.

If you continue to be COVID-free, only then are you allowed to enter the streets of Taiwan. Once on the streets, most people choose to wear masks full time but it is not required. Only on public transportation are you required to wear a mask. 

And at Church on Sundays -

 full two hours with everyone allowed at the same time.

The streets are safe.

Like I said, Taiwan is virtually COVID-free. No COVID on the streets. Completely safe. 

So, you know what Taiwan is going to do?

They are tightening the restrictions.

Yes, that’s right. Tightening the restrictions!

Starting December 1^st, masks will be required at the following places: medical facilities, mass transit, places of consumption, schools, exhibitions and athletic centers, entertainment venues, houses of worship, and business venues. That’s pretty much everywhere there are people.

Taiwan public announcement announcing new restrictions

Starting December 1^st, all travelers to Taiwan will be required to provide a “within-three-days-travel-to-Taiwan” negative COVID test.

A small child with a mask 
pulled down 

No one will complain. No one will riot. No one will protest. The fines for disobedience are steep (up to $526). In some cases, the punishment is prison. The people are just happily compliant, grateful for their near-normal life style.

I asked our local senior sister missionary if anyone has ever disobeyed the mask mandate on public transportation.  

She said, “Of course!”

Surprised, I asked, “How many people?”

She replied, “Just one. He’s in jail now.”

Extra-Ordinary Persons of Taiwan

Your mind is a map. It records everything you do and everywhere you go. You just have to learn how to read the map.

This is Ruby's story.

Arriving at English Conversation Group

I was six months old when I had my first heart surgery. I couldn’t breathe. My parents took me to the hospital where the doctors diagnosed me with a type of valvular heart disease. One of my valves didn’t close completely at birth.

I had another heart surgery when I was 14, and then another just this year. I’ll need more in the future. For now I'm doing well.

My parents divorced when I was seven. After that I didn’t see them much or live with them – I lived at school in the dorm. It was a regular school, not one for the blind or the disabled. In our high school you have to choose a major and a minor. I chose music. My mom had been my piano teacher, so music was already familiar to me. I majored in viola and minored in piano. I practiced 8 hours a day.

When I graduated from high school I entered Tamkang University or TKU. It’s a private university here in Taipei. This time my major was Japanese and my minor was German. Government scholarships kept me in school. When I graduated, I became a teacher for a junior high school.

I am also blind.

It can take over 100,000 times to learn a new skill when you are blind.

Simple things for everyone else can be very difficult. It’s a challenge when I can’t find the water dispenser. Getting the water into my water bottle is difficult. Every day tasks are complicated. 

I worked for 7-½ years as a teacher. Then my dad got liver cancer. In Taiwan, when someone gets sick, it is the responsibility of a family member, usually the oldest child, to take care of them. I am an only child. So I quit my job and went to live with my father in the hospital.

Someone stole my dad’s ID, and used the ID to fraudulently buy a car. I sued him. It took 8 years of my life. I had to go back and forth from the lawsuit activities to the hospital. After four years in the hospital, my dad passed away. That was three years ago.

This year I lost the lawsuit. 

Sometimes I still miss my dad. I don’t see my mom much.

Now I am a masseuse. I went to school for 2 years to learn the trade, and have been doing it for over 7 years. 

Sister Coffey's first professional massage.

I live in my dad’s apartment. I memorize the way to get from my home to work. I also take the subway and then walk to the Church where I attend the weekly English conversation group. I am learning about the teaching of Jesus Christ from the missionaries. 

President Peterson and I in a recent visit.

When I finish at the Church I walk to the subway to get back home. The street signals don't have beeps to alert me when it is my turn to cross the street. I have to listen to the cars to know when it is safe to do so.

Taiwan does not have a lot of mobility services for the blind. I do the best I can. But I do have a cell phone that reads my messages to me.  That’s an easy way for me to communicate with others. It also tells me what it sees in photos that I take.

The camera tells me what the image is in the screen.

A photo of Elder Coffey

I want to help change the laws or policies in Taiwan to provide more resources for the disabled. My philosophy in life is nengliang ( 能量) – or energy. A blind person can do almost anything. I don’t want people to feel sorry for me or think I can’t do things. I’m just an ordinary person, almost like everyone else. Blind people have many capabilities. You just need to give them a chance.

Ruby continues to advocate for the disabled. Her life is exemplary in showing that disabilities need not stop a person from pursuing their goals and dreams. In spite of all the challenges she has faced, she retains her self-reliant lifestyle with a cheerful attitude, optimism and grace.