I’m writing this post in the dark, so the lighting has me in the right mood for this topic. I have to say I didn’t choose to turn off the lights. (March 9 edit: My apartment’s electricity had been shut off because the utility bill had not been paid). So now is as good a time as any to reflect on some of the issues I’ve noticed in Mongolia and the city of Ulaanbaatar in particular: there is no recycling system, air pollution covers the city, and traffic is unbelievble not to mention the minimal public transit options.
Recycling
Mongolia does not have a recycling or compost system. Everything is destined for the trash and a landfill (glass, coffee cups, paper, food scraps, etc.). I was a bit surprised to learn this because I’m so used to recycling most items.
Everytime I buy a coffee, a bottle of sparkling water, or order take out food, I cringe at the thought of these containers and bottles not being reduced, reused, or recycled. I’ve been making a conscious effort to limit my take-out purchases. But often when I dine out, I take leftovers to go, meaning more garbage in the bin.
I can’t bring myself to throw out these containers. I wash them, dry them, and put them away. They have been useful for storing food. I hope the person or family, who rents this place after me, will find them useful too.
Air Pollution
Winter time in Mongolia is also prime air pollution time. I understand from people I’ve talked to that 50% or more of Mongolia’s population is nomadic and lives in gers (which are makeshift structures that can be packed up). The heating of the ger is accomplished by burning raw coal. Since Ulaanbaatar is situated in a mountain valley and gers are along the edges of the city, the smoke from the coal infiltrates the air and creates a fog over the city. All the cars buzzing around doesn’t help matters.
Ulaanbaatar is known for being one of the worst, if not the worst, cities in the world for its air pollution. 1 My colleagues say that the air quality has declined signifcantly in the past 5 years. I find it unfortunate that the thing this city is known for is so damaging and unhealthy.
Most days when I’m outside, there is smoke in the air. It was a lot more prominent when I first arrived. That musty, dusty, smoky small permeates the city. I even had a dry cough for a while in January, which if I had to bet, it was due to the air pollution. I wonder sometimes how this 3 month assignment in the winter will affect my health. Time will tell.
Traffic and Public Transit
Not only is there air pollution in Ulaanbaatar, with the winter comes Traffic-Jams-R-Us. By way of background, I’ve been told that the city was designed to sustain about 400,000 people. In 2018, 1.5 million people are living in Ulaanbaatar (half Mongolia’s population). With limited buses, bus routes, and no organized time table, the result is a never ending rush hour and back-to-back walls of cars around the city.
People here say that when they’re in a rush, they choose to walk to their destination. “Walking is faster than driving” is the motto. I’ve experienced this first hand. Sitting in a cab that waits 3-4 stoplights to turn left is infuriating to the point where I asked to be let out early so I could walk the rest of the way to my apartment.
The other interesting fact about the cars in this city is that some have the driver seat on the left side (which is the correct side) and others have the driver seat on the right (the road system is organized for driving on the right).
I’d never imagined that a country would allow both types of cars on the road. That’s Mongolia for you, a wild west in my books (where there are rules, but people generally do whatever they want). I am curious why the Mongolian Government hasn’t made the right-hand-driver-seat cars illegal. Having both on the road is clearly dangerous. I’d like to do more research, but I have no internet at the moment.
Did I also mention there is no local train/subway system here? Fortunately, I live close to my office so I walk everyday. But going to a different part of the city in the winter means taking a taxi (which is not really my cup of tea). I truly hope that the Government seriously considers its public transit and invests in its future development, for the sake of the city’s exponential population growth and sustainability.
Overall, I’m glad that I have lived in Ulaanbaatar to experience how another part of the world lives. It has given me a true appreciation of the things I take for granted in Canada.