The cleanness in Taipei city’s public sphere relies on the dedication and efforts of 3637 workers in our cleaning squad. They are part of Taipei’s image, forming a special color in our daily life. Image a designer’s magic hands, the uniform of our cleaning squad will involve with an atmosphere of Taipei, offering an image of the “professional.”
Waste is consumed and thrown away unintermittedly everyday. We produce two million and fifty thousand kilograms of waste on a daily basis and it piles up an enormously huge mountain that weighs nine hundred million kilograms in a year. But, 40 percent of the waste we produced can be recycled and reused; another 14 percent of the waste became ash after the incineration can be used as the materials for Taipei’s road pavement. The massive amount of our waste is recyclable so everyone should be responsible and to be green in order to lessen the burden of our planet. Starting from you to make Taipei clean and pretty, and to make Taiwan clean and pretty.
Summary of director’s interviewIn the process of handling trash and waste, the energy that can be used /Taipei’s three incineration plants is able to generate electricity in the process of burning, landfill plants that generate biogas can also generate electricity, which is around 5, 6 million kilowatts a year. Taipei department of environmental protection policies and results / In the year 2000, incineration and landfill trash has an amount of 3000 tons, and with recycle the numbers dropped to 1000 tons. As our techniques develop, cleaned ashes from burned trash can be mixed into concrete. As we are speaking, the test of solidifying ashes and milling them into hollow bricks is already under development. What does Taipei stand out or lack against sustainable cities / Last year Taipei won second place in the Asia green city rating. Compared to other cities Taipei is a more business city, less factories mean our average CO2 emission has a superiority compared to other countries. 2015 Taipei street lights plan / 2015 Taipei plans to have all 140 thousand street lights all replaced with LED lights, as a result, reduce huge amounts of electricity costs each year. With the money we can replace more equipment that conserves more energy, thus is the Green cycle, recycle and regenerate.
● According to new research commissioned by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, one-third of the food produced for human consumption in the world each year is, amonting to 1.3 billion metric tonnes is lost or wasted. (2011. 05)
● The United Nations announced that two areas in south Somalia are now in a state of famine. Over 3 million people are in lack of food, and in need of emergency support. Every 4.78 seconds a child passes away because of starvation. (2011. 07)
Food mileage and Carbon footprint
● Nike’s leather products refuse to use bulls that feed from a kind of soy bean within the Amazon forest, where people have been cutting down trees to plant those beans. (2009. 07)
● Taiwan’s Council of Agriculture announces the new era of safe agriculture, officially promoting the “Traceable Agriculture Product” known as the TAP mark. (2007. 06)
● The Environmental protection administration promotes “Taiwan Carbon Marks” and related product registration measures. (2010. 04)
Resourses of Pictures:Chris Blakeley (Flickr Creative Commons)
● Recycled Jerseys
According to the EPA, Taiwan, in the past year, has recycled 180 thousand tons of plastic waste and made into wigs, blankets, etc, even the jerseys of the Netherlands, Geremeny and 7 other teams in the world soccer cupwere made from plastic textiles from Taiwan. Our reuse technology is one of the best in the world.
● Recycled Cloth
You might have heard of recycle used clothes, donations and garage sells, but you might have never heard of melting the
used clothes and fabric and making it into a brand new shirt. First to implement this kind of never ending reuse of materials is the famous company from America, Patagonia.
● Recycled Blankets
Tzu Chi has over 4500 recycle stations in Taiwan, and a stunning 62 thousand volunteers. Volunteers gather the plastic bottles, and within the process of sorting, getting rid of the cap, and squashing the bottles flat, the work is almost finished.Bags full of bottles are transported to the plastic processing factory to cut into little pieces and washed, then made into polyester particles, transported to weaving factories to snag, weave, and cut into a piece of soft and warm blanket.
Eco friendly blankets have been developed since 2006, at the end of the year it was already in the production stage. At 2008 August there were over 152 thousand pieces of blankets produced, all made from Tzu Chi’s North Taiwan recycle volunteers. Green blankets are softer and lighter than cotton clothes, eco friendly and great in quality. Currently these blankets are provided in the winter, and also in countries and people that is in need, including Pakistan, America, Philippines, Sri Lanka…etc.
Resourses of Pictures:Tania Ho Morna Crites Moore (Flickr Creative Commons)
Taipei city library Beitou branch is Taiwan’s first green building library, it has a green roof, including solar panels to generate electricity, it can generate up to 16 thousand watts of electricity, also use of balconies to make deep shades and vertical wood frames can lower heat radiation into indoors, as a result, lowers the need for energy and conserves it. Green roof and the grass slope design is to guide the rain water into the collection tank, than uses the water to irrigate plants and flushing the toilet, to reach green and reduce the waste of water resources. The building uses wood and steel, these materials can be recycled and used again, reducing pollution to the environment. The indoor health and environment side is not left out either, besides the termite and water proof processes, also uses eco paint and avoid unnecessary renovation, reducing pollution and poisonous substances, thus avoiding affecting the human health.
● Concept of Green building materials
Reuse
Low emission materials
Reduce
Recycle
● Essential on selecting low carbon materials
Low energy consumption materials
Contains recycled composition materials
Recycle used materials
Domestic local materials
Design Construction Use
Demolish Reuse
Resourses of Pictures : Anguskirk Urban Sea Star (Flickr Creative Commons)
以巴里島的綠色學校為例
在印度尼西亞的巴里島上,綠色學校(Green School in Bali)給予學生全面性的綠色教育,在學習之中同時認知能源永續的重要性。綠色學校的建材皆是竹子—來自當地,自然的、可再生的資源。而教室四面皆無牆壁,綠色學校相信這樣的環境能夠使學生更加專注於學習,並且提升對於人際關係的敏感度。
Green School in Bali, Indonesia is giving students a holistic green education, and pioneering sustainability within education.
The structures in Green School are built primarily from bamboo-- a local, natural, renewable resource. Besides, all class rooms are built without walls, which Green School believes can make students pay more attention to the leaning process, and
increasetheir sensitivity toward relationships among people.
Students in Green School come from differentcorners of the world, bringing their own learning experiences with them to share with friends, which contributes to a global awareness and perspective of social issues in the mean time. Green School not only inspires students' thirst to know more, but also prepares for them to think critically and creatively, and equips them with appropriate knowledge and passion to influence in the way people are managing this planet.
Resourses of Pictures : http://writingonthewall-vaneck.blogspot.com/p/book-reviews.html
As one of the world’s biggest oil exports around the world, Norway also sets a big example in the carbon reduction plans. In 2020 they plan to reduce carbon emission to 30%, and the main strategy is to promote electric cars. Electric cars are small in size, clean, and have small rumbles.
The government of Norway also pushes lots of related policies. For example electric cars can use the bus road, avoiding traffic, there’s also free parking spaces downtown. Norway also build a lot of fast charging stations around the country, despite normal charging takes about 7 to 8 hours, the fast charging stations only takes 20 minutes to set the car ready for a 150 mile ride.
We estimate the result of the use of electriccars in Norway can reduce about 6000 tons of CO2 a year.
Norway is also known for its love for bicycles. People ride bicycles anywhere and to do almost everything. To push the numbers to its limits, they also built the Trampe bicycle lift to encourage people to get on their bikes. In their user survey, 41 % of the lift users say they are using the bicycle more often due to the installation of Trampe, the bicycle lift.
Transport in Taipei
The department of transportation plans to expand public transport system in order to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases by cars. Their target is to have 70% of the citizens take public transportation rather than driving cars.
Resourses of Pictures : http://girlsthatroam.wordpress.com/category/public-restrooms/
Our city street cleaners (Taipei city Chung Cheng area captain interview)
Main task - Street sweeping, cleaning of ditches, transport and cleaning of trash, recycle, removal of advertisement, cleaning of big assemblies and disasters, including all sorts of environmental protection work.
Tools - Brooms, dustpans, ditch scoops, garbage bags, clamps, gloves, reflective hats, reflective jackets, masks, plastic helmets, trolleys, wash cars, street sweepers…etc. The standard for the picking of tools is convenient, light, durable, good looking, easy to store, and cheap. After concerning street cleaner’s experience in the tools it’s time to public tender.
The street cleaner’s thought of environment protection - Establish a living quality corresponding to the nature, expecting the balance between business benefits and the environment, with the “you pollute, you pay” angle to probe the balance point between people, business, and the government.
Sustainable green city- Establish a fair and right resource distribution, let the green mountains sprout, the clear waters flow, maintain the chance to live with other creatures, with everyone involved--generation after generation.
Taipei produces this trash mountain every 100 seconds, we are throwing trash away every second of our daily lives. Earth’s eco problems are the biggest test to the people living in the 21th century. Beginning with your eating, clothing, living, transporting, we can lighten Earth’s burden with the green act; with the 3r we all are capable of achieving:reduce / reuse / recycle