…If you hear this sound in Taiwan, or… Beethoven’s “Für Elise”, or Pachelbel’s “Canon in D”, don’t rush out thinking the ice cream truck has arrived. Instead, it’s time to quickly take out your household garbage. While in your country, you might be accustomed to placing trash in designated areas for collection by sanitation workers, in Taiwan, as soon as the garbage truck passes by, each household rushes to take out their trash. If you’re even a bit slow, you’ll have to wait until the day after tomorrow to dispose of your waste. That’s why even the elderly, who usually walk slowly, burst out with their former agility and strength to get the trash out.
This tradition traces back to the 1960s when Taiwan purchased garbage trucks from Japan, which were preset with these tunes. Some of these trucks were acquired from Germany to replace the manual garbage collection process, and they came with the music of “Für Elise” and “Canon in D” originally installed. And so, these melodies have been perpetuated for decades.
Another version of the story involves a former Director-General of the Health Bureau, Hsu Tzu-chiu. When choosing the music for garbage trucks, initially, they intended to use a sound similar to the sirens on fire trucks. However, upon hearing his daughter practicing “Für Elise” on the piano and finding it beautiful, he felt that disposing of garbage should also be culturally enriching, a way to release stress, thus deciding to adopt the piece as the fixed music for garbage trucks.
While waiting for the garbage truck, people engage in conversations with neighbors, fostering community bonds, or have enthusiastic chats with the sanitation workers, making it a unique cultural aspect of Taiwan today.
Today’s daily phrase: “垃圾,” in English, refers to discarded unwanted items. It’s also used as an insult or to describe something as lousy. For example, “Don’t throw your 垃圾, over here.” “Trash” can also be used to describe people, actions, or things as being worthless or of poor quality. “My boss came up with a bunch of 垃圾, ideas again.” “You’re such trash!”