It is one of life’s mysteries that all waste disposal trucks in Taiwan play Fur Elise, a Beethoven favourite
People disposing of rubbish at a Taipei festival. Taiwan is a tropical country and rubbish left outside quickly becomes offensive and attracts vermin. So it is collected five evenings a weekMrs Huang was in charge of our rubbish brigade. This is not an official position. She was under five feet tall, with a fine head of silver hair set off by nicotined teeth. She had a natural authority recognised by the group. She nodded to regulars as they straggled in, clutching misshapen bags of rubbish.
I was there early. The neighbour had told me that household waste had to go in special blue plastic bags that could be bought at any convenience store. In Taiwan there seems to be a convenience store every 500m, so this is no big ask. I had assumed that paper and plastics should be separated and, to be on the safe side, had put bottles in a separate bag. It was 5.10pm. I could see I was in the right place for there was already a small group of people, including Mrs Huang.
I have had a long painful exposure to British railways , where trains travelling from A to B on a route exclusively reserved for them often fail to arrive on time. So the chance of the timely arrival of rubbish trucks travelling through an urban centre at rush hour seemed slim. I engaged Mrs Huang in conversation. Her son was studying abroad. I elicited from the proud mother both college and discipline .
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