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.
SEND A MESSAGE: Sinking the amphibious assault ship, the lead warship of its class, is meant to show China the US Navy is capable of sinking their ships, an analyst said The US and allied navies plan to sink a 40,000-tonne ship at the latest Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise to simulate defeating a Chinese amphibious assault on Taiwan. This year’s RIMPAC — the 29th iteration of the world’s largest naval exercise — involves the US, 28 partners, more than 25,000 personnel, 40 warships, three submarines and more than 150 aircraft operating in and around Hawaii from yesterday to Aug. 1, the US Navy said in a press release. The major components of the event include multidomain warfare exercises in multiship surface engagements, anti-submarine warfare and multi-axis defense of a carrier strike
Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China when traveling in countries with close ties to Beijing, Taiwan Association of University Professors deputy chairman Chen Li-fu (陳俐甫) said on Friday. Chen’s comments came after China on Friday last week announced new judicial guidelines targeting Taiwanese independence advocates. Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Djibouti are among the countries where Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China, he said. The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday elevated the travel alert for China, Hong Kong and Macau to “orange” after Beijing announced its guidelines to “severely punish Taiwanese independence diehards for splitting the country and inciting secession.” Extradition treaties
The airspace around Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) is to be closed for an hour on July 25 and July 23 respectively, due to the Han Kuang military exercises, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. The annual exercise is to be held on Taiwan proper and its outlying islands from July 22 to 26. During last year’s exercise, the military conducted anti-aircraft landing drills at the Taoyuan airport for the first time, for which a one-hour no-fly ban was issued. Based on a live-fire bulletin sent out by the Maritime and Port Bureau, the nation’s
CROSS-BORDER CRIME: The suspects cannot be charged with cybercrime in Indonesia as their targets were in Malaysia, an Indonesian immigration director said Indonesian immigration authorities have detained 103 Taiwanese after a raid at a villa on Bali, officials said yesterday. They were accused of misusing their visas and residence permits, and are suspected of possible cybercrimes, Safar Muhammad Godam, director of immigration supervision and enforcement at the Indonesian Ministry of Law and Human Rights told reporters at a news conference. “The 103 foreign nationals stayed at the villa and conducted suspicious activities, which we suspect are activities related to cybercrime activities,” he said, presenting laptops and routers at the news conference. Godam said Indonesian authorities cannot charge them with conducting cybercrime. “During the inspection, we