TAIPEI (TVBS News) — If you're tired of chasing or waiting around for garbage trucks, a new type of "smart" trash collector in Taipei City may offer a solution.
By placing your EasyCards in a cardholder, you can dump your domestic waste into the metal boxes and pay just NT＄2 for every 0.1 kilograms of trash.
In addition, you can also profit from recycling, as every ten bottles recycled will see NT＄1 added to your EasyCards.
These trash bins can hold the daily domestic waste of around 200-250 households. The system automatically alerts the company when the container is at 80% capacity.
The company hopes to install 30 more trash collectors this year and increase to 180 stations in 3 years.
However, not all residents may be on board with this project, as most with little domestic waste may choose to toss them illegally in public trash cans to save money and time.
According to city statistics, public trash cans receive around 3,000 to 4,000 bags of domestic waste each year.
To curb this issue, the city government began removing some public trash cans, inadvertently making it harder for tourists to dispose of their trash.
Residents argue that it's easy to generate trash when traveling; however, if there are limited public trash cans nearby, it could pose a problem.
There are currently only about 1,200 public trash cans in Taipei, and 70% of residents polled hope the local government could install more.
However, the non-profit organization Citizen of the Earth, Taiwan, pointed out that by installing fewer public trash cans, Taipei can encourage tourists and residents alike to cut back on their waste and use more recyclable materials when on the go.