Ghost Month Begins With Eco-Friendly Shift on Burning Joss Paper
By Leon Lien/Irene Lin
As the annual Ghost Month begins, worshippers across Taiwan prepare offerings for deities, ancestors and wandering spirits. To combat severe seasonal air pollution, local temples—including the Taiwan City God Temple in Taipei—are partnering with municipal governments to promote centralized joss paper burning. Over five years, Taipei’s collected volume of joss paper grew by nearly 30%, rising from 1,200 to over 1,600 metric tons. Supported by the environment ministry, cities nationwide are deploying specialized incinerators and designated collection bags, proving that sacred traditions can adapt to modern environmental standards.
Ahead of the traditional ghost month prayer ceremony... believers and tourists are coming to this Taipei temple to pay respects to the City God, or Chenghuang ye.
Traditionally, they do it by burning joss paper… but for the past three decades, there’s been a shift in this practice to reduce air pollution in the city.
The temple provides smaller bundles of joss paper, collecting them to be burnt together by the city government... instead of letting people burn them individually here.
WANG CHEN-JU, DIRECTOR-GENERAL, TAIWAN CITY GOD TEMPLE:
"Once we collect a certain amount of joss paper, I’ll have a small truck haul it away, so there’s no fixed schedule. At first, it was difficult for people to accept this because burning it here has long been our tradition. But over the past two decades or so, people have gradually come to accept it. First, the amount of joss paper we burn is small. Second, they understand that they can trust the process as they can see every step of it taking place here."
The initiative aims to reduce the amount of joss paper and incense burned at religious ceremonies each year... the temple has even offered to replace them with packs of rice as a blessing.
But as joss paper is meant to honor the ancestors and wandering spirits... Some people say they can't give up the practice altogether... but do support government oversight on how it's done.
LOCAL RESIDENT:
"Because of environmental concerns, many places have stopped burning joss paper. But sometimes, for our own peace of mind, we still want to find a place to do it. After looking around, I found the City God Temple is one of the few places where I can."
LOCAL RESIDENT:
"I feel that burning incense and joss paper is the proper way to show respect to our ancestors. We've been cooperating with the policy. I was just asking the staff when the next shipment is."
The Taipei government says over half of the city's registered temples have joined in.
The collected batches will be sent to three specialized incinerators... and officials continue to urge people to not burn joss paper at home.
TSENG KUO-HSIN, DEPT. OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, TAIPEI CITY GOVERNMENT:
"Over the past five years, from 2021 to 2025, the volume we’ve collected has increased from over 1,200 to 1,600 metric tons. That's a nearly 30% increase. We encourage residents to contact their local district office to get designated collection bags and stickers. As for temples or large-scale joint Ghost Festival offerings that use a significant amount of joss paper, organizers can book our collection service."
The initiative has made it to the national level... with the environment ministry launching a project to centralize joss paper burning in every city and county.
With local and central efforts working in tandem, temples and officials hope to respect ancestral practices... while making them a little better for the environment.
