Taiwan’s Iconic Garbage Trucks and the Classical Tunes They Play
In Taiwan, when you hear Beethoven’s ‘Für Elise’ or the Polish composition ‘Maiden’s Prayer’, you know it’s time to take out the trash. Taiwan’s iconic musical garbage trucks turned trash collection into a national ritual and helped make the island one of the world’s cleanest places. But how did these beautiful compositions end up on the yellow trucks that cart off Taiwan’s garbage? We unpack this cultural phenomenon with truck workers Rain Lin and Jay Zhang, musicologist Nancy Guy, environmental scientist Su Ming-Chien, Deputy Minister of Environment Liu Jui-hsiang, and Kamil Tokarski, a Taipei-based Polish pianist who’s delighted to hear Bądarzewska-Baranowska’s iconic tune so far from home.
