| Summary: | 碩士 === 淡江大學 === 中國大陸研究所碩士在職專班 === 92 === Title of Thesis：The Comparative Study of Government Solid Waste Management Policies between Taipei and Shanghai page：176
Key word：Waste Management Policies, Zero Waste, Total Recycling,zero growth of residential waste, zero landfilling
Name of Institute：Institute of china research Tamkang University
Graduate Date：June 2004 Degree Conferred：Master
Name of Student：Huang Hui-Mei Advisor：Dr.Shen Shu-Hung
Abstract
The industrial revolution stimulated an abrupt growth of population, environmental pollution and ecological deterioration, posing a threat to the survival of most life on Earth. Books such as Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring (1962), J.W. Forrester’s Club of Rome, and D.L. Meadows’ Limits to Growth (1971) clearly described these problems and reminded the international community that we must develop a deeper awareness of ecology and environmental problems. This became the driving force that led to UN’s drafting of Agenda 21 and a global movement to promote sustainable development.
Densely populated urban areas are a major source of environmental problems. The concept of being “environmentally friendly” has arisen as a result of highly developed mega-cities in Europe, North America and Japan that have experienced long periods of extreme environmental pressures due to mass production, inefficient transportation systems, overconsumption and throw-away linear-thinking societies. An environmental consciousness has been growing for a few decades and has given rise to a new movement to create societies that can recycle and reuse all resources in the quest for sustainable development of urban areas and the whole world.
This study compares two metropolises on either side of the Taiwan Strait─Taipei City and Shanghai City. In the current powerful trend to protect the Earth from overdevelopment, the aim of this study is to seek similarities and dissimilarities of sustainable development in light of vastly different historical development of politics, economics and social structure. It is hoped that the conclusions reached herein will quicken the pace toward elevating environmental quality on both sides of the Strait, and ultimately provide impetus to attaining sustainable development of the Earth and humanity. Compared with Taipei City, the development of environmental protection in Shanghai City was quite slow before the 1980s. Since China opened its doors to the world, citizen’s lives have notably improved along with rapid development of the urban infrastructure and economy. This has led to an increased awareness and demand for quality living environments and has spurred on the development of environmental protection initiatives.
While the government systems of these two cities followed completely different courses of development, both cities hold the same visionary slogans for striding into a new era of developing a “green city.” For example, Taipei declared that it will attain “Zero Waste, Total Recycling” by 2010, and Shanghai similarly announced its goal to achieve “zero growth of residential waste, and zero landfilling of raw material waste.” Taipei City has seen marked results in reducing garbage since it initiated the per bag trash collection fee system in 2000 and has been incrementally introducing programs to reuse food waste via pig farms and composting operations, as well as reuse incinerator bottom ash. Future programs include reutilization of sludge from wastewater treatment plants and sewers, which can be composted or reused in the form of ash after incineration, thus eliminating the necessity for landfilling. Fly ash from incinerators can also be reused after vitrification processes are employed to make it safe for use in construction materials. Although some problems are still awaiting solutions, the metropolis is already on the road to success.
Kitchen waste makes up as much as 70 percent of waste in Shanghai City, and the ratio of recyclable waste is quite low. This indicates that recyclable materials in Shanghai’s free market system still have market value. Some Shanghai citizens depend on income from collecting and selling waste materials, and in many cases this provides enough to make a living. It is even accurate to say that apart from food waste, all material waste that has monetary value as a recyclable material is recycled. This study clearly shows that recycling is not a factor of Shanghai’s 2010 policy for “zero growth of residential waste and zero landfilling of raw material waste.”
Based on an analysis of Shanghai’s current status, the key to keeping raw materials out of landfills in the future lies in installing food waste recycling facilities and establishing a system to sort and collect food waste. The key to achieving zero growth of garbage lies in encouraging citizens to reduce waste at its source and maintaining long-term market values of recyclable items. Interestingly, even though the historical processes and current statuses of economic development on either side of the Strait are vastly different, both cities are faced with the same two major issues in the near future: how to maintain market values of recyclables and how to recycle food waste. Even more interesting is the fact that Taipei City government has painstakingly mended an inoperative market by adopting economic and legal tools, both of which have yielded satisfactory results. However, as Shanghai’s average per capita income remains at a certain stage, the invisible hand of the market allows more agility in maintaining a higher recycling rate, and Shanghai’s recycling rate is not lower than that of Taipei City.
It is foreseeable that both cities will be able to achieve their stated goals by the year 2010, and coincidentally both cities have found the answer through technological solutions. Composting facilities, incinerator fly ash recycling facilities, and pre-incineration waste sorting facilities are the real key components to success by 2010. It is also foreseeable that Shanghai, in its current stage of economic booming, faces a much more complex and difficult challenge than Taipei City. It would behoove Shanghai to soon develop a policy that gradually introduces the same economic tools as Taipei City, pairs them with appropriate legal tools and strict law enforcement, as well as makes good use of the social mechanisms that Shanghai already excels at to inspire a complete citizen movement which would maintain the market value and management of recyclables, and keep the growth of garbage volumes in check.
The search for appropriate management of increasing amounts of waste generated by citizens and industry is a good opportunity to seek ways to keep materials cycling and to plan for sustainable development. In order for Taipei City and Shanghai to effectively attain their respective goals of “Zero Waste, Total Recycling” and “zero growth of residential waste and zero landfilling of raw material waste” by 2010, both cities will need to reduce incinerator treatment of waste to the lowest possible levels and increase recycling rates to peak levels. This will ensure the gradual transformation of these cities into recycling societies. All other cities on both sides of the Strait will be wise to follow similar methods as they stride toward becoming greener cities.
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