Joss paper piles up at Tainan incinerator

Joss paper piles up at Tainan incinerator

2026-06-15

Spirit money has piled up at a Tainan incinerator after the Qingming Festival. These offerings are commonly burned during festivals to honor ancestors, but incinerators are struggling to keep up with the city government’s centralized burning policy. City councilors said supporting measures have fallen short, but the Tainan Environmental Protection Bureau said over 60% of the paper money has already been burned, and they expect to finish by the end of June.

Spirit money is piled all the way up to the ceiling, completely blocking the wall. On the other side of the facility, there are two more mountains.

On top of the mountains, there are burlap sacks full of even more joss paper. This is an incinerator in Tainan’s Annan District which collected massive amounts of spirit money over the Lunar New Year and Qingming Festival, when people burn them as offerings to ancestors. But this paper is still sitting here, yet to be burned.

Member of public
Finds it unreasonable
I think it’s unreasonable. It makes more sense to burn it within a week.

Member of public
Considering situation
The money from the Qingming Festival is left until Lunar New Year, and we don’t know how to explain this to our ancestors.

Lin Yen-chu
Tainan City Councilor (KMT)
We burn about 2,000 tons a year. Now Ghost Month is coming, and our brothers are only out for a month, but they won’t even have any money when they go back.

The Environmental Protection Bureau said the massive amount of joss paper has caused delays in burning it all. In addition to reducing the amount, the bureau said it would promote constructing incinerators at major temples to decentralize processing.

Huang Jen-wei
Environmental Protection Bureau official
During the Qingming Festival, about 373 tons of paper money were collected and sent to dedicated incinerators. More than 60% has already been processed. The bureau’s incinerator still has about 150 tons in storage, and it’s expected to be fully incinerated by the end of June.

With the Ghost Festival approaching, authorities are reminding people that sincerity is most important in worship. People can burn less joss paper and donate the equivalent value instead, which would reduce air pollution and ease pressure on incineration facilities, while still honoring traditional beliefs.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
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Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

#papermoney #QingmingFestival #LunarNewYear #GhostMonth #tradition #worship #ancestors #offerings #pollution #environment

奇景! 台南城西焚化爐"紙錢堆成山" 環保局:估月底燒完

2026-06-15

清明節已經過了，在台南安南區的城西焚化爐，現場紙錢堆積如山、直達天花板，眼看中元普度又將至，前期的敬神祭祖紙錢卻還沒燒完，議員批評台南市府推動紙錢集中燒政策，配套措施卻嚴重不足。對此，台南環保局表示，清明期間約有373噸紙錢集運至紙錢專爐燒化，已經處理6成多，預計6月底前燒化完畢。

金紙多到看不見牆面，只看得到一片金黃色，堆積高度逼近天花板，不只這區，鏡頭往旁邊拍，還有另外兩座的金紙山。

除了散落的金紙，上頭一袋袋用太空包裝的，同樣是還沒燒的金紙，這是在台南安南區城西焚化爐，今年從春節走春到清明掃墓的龐大紙錢，至今仍大量囤積還沒燒完。

[[民眾]]
“我覺得這樣不合理啦，我覺得你這樣差不多一個禮拜左右，燒一燒比較合理。”

[[民眾]]
“清明金把我放到過年，祖先在下面我們也不知道怎麼交代。”

[[台南市議員(國) 林燕祝]]
“一年要燒差不多兩千噸，接下來又要農曆七月了，好兄弟出來一個月而已，回去連錢都拿不到。”

市府環保局表示，因為紙錢數量太大，出現延遲焚燒，未來除了持續推動紙錢減量外，也將評估推動各大宮廟自建環保爐分散去化。

[[台南市環保局空噪科代理科長黃任偉]]
“在清明時節紙錢在集中燒部分，約有373噸的紙錢集運至紙錢專爐燒化，已經處理6成多，目前本局的紙錢專爐園區大概還有150噸的暫存，依規劃將在6月底前燒化完畢。”

中元普度又將至，環保單位也呼籲民眾，祭祀重在心意，透過減量焚燒、以功代金等方式表達敬意，不僅能減少空污，降低焚化設施負擔，讓傳統信仰與環境永續取得平衡。

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Drivers rush to turn back as the landslide comes rushing toward the road surface.

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The passer-by exclaims in shock at the sight. Past 2 p.m. Sunday, a debris avalanche descended upon the 18.2km mark of Nantou County Road No. 89 in Renai Township, obstructing traffic. The same happened at another segment of the road.

Voice of Chiang Tzu-hsin
Renai Township Mayor
The 36.5km and 18.2km marks got covered in landslide yesterday in the afternoon and the evening, which obstructed traffic. They’re being cleared as quickly as possible at the moment.

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Voice of Chiang Tzu-hsin
Renai Township Mayor
The 36.5km mark has been cleared. The 18.2km mark is more heavily obstructed. We’ve asked the county government’s contractor to report back, and they said it’ll only be cleared at around noon.

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- It used to be here, around here. She moved it back here. The road is wide now. There shouldn’t be as many accidents.

Voice of Ms. Yang
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The road is meant for people to use. If it makes things easier on everyone else, it’s easier for me too. Besides, if someone hits the tree and it needs to be replanted, it wouldn’t grow back the same.

The road around the tree sees a lot of traffic since it’s near the local swimming pool. By volunteering to move her wall back by a meter, Ms. Yang gave up her own property to straighten the path. Now it’s about 4.5 meters wide, protecting both the tree and motorists.

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It’s great. Protecting the tree like this is wonderful. It has history. We shouldn’t let it be destroyed.

The township office is currently drafting plans to promote the tree along with other nearby tourist attractions. Thanks to the generous neighbor who recognized the benefit to donating her land, this story proves that a little community spirit can go a long way.

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