Solid Waste Disposal

As introduced by the Yearbook of the Republic of China:

Taiwan has 18 incinerators, built under the Taiwan Area Garbage Treatment, Recycling, and Incinerator Construction Plan, and another three scheduled to be completed by 2005. Together, these 21 incinerators will have a total daily garbage treatment capacity of 22,000 metric tons, or 70 percent of the garbage produced daily in Taiwan. In addition, 15 more incinerators were originally being planned as BOO/BOT (build-own-operate/build-operate-transfer) projects, though this number has since been adjusted to eight due to the government's success with garbage reduction and recycling programs. As of mid-2003, one such incinerator was already in operation, five were under construction, and the rest were still in their preparatory stages. Once completed, these eight BOO/BOT incinerators will have a total daily capacity of 4,250 million metric tons. Once completed, Taiwan's 30 incinerators will not only be able to effectively handle all of the household garbage, but a good portion of the industrial waste as well.

Recycling

Workers are mixing kitchen waste with wood shavings and rice hulls. After stirring, the mixture is allowed to naturally ferment and is regularly turned to aid the work of aerobic bacteria. The EPA calculates that about 40 percent of Taiwan's garbage is recyclable. Much effort has thus been devoted to formulating regulations and programs for waste reduction and resource recycling. The Four-in-One Resource Recycling Program, implemented in April 1997, combines the efforts of communities, scrap dealers, local garbage collecting teams, and recycling funds. Recyclable materials, whose separation from garbage is mandatory, is collected at least twice a week by 1,945 collection trucks throughout Taiwan. These efforts pushed recyclable trash collection to 1.06 million tons in 2001, or 12.69 percent of total solid waste collected; a significant increase from the 9.79 percent collected in 2000.

In Taipei, a "fee per package" policy was implemented by the city government in July 2000 requiring residents to use designated trash bags when disposing of their garbage. Recycling trucks visit Taipei neighborhoods three times each week to collect a large diversity of waste materials, including paper, containers, lead acid batteries, styrofoam, plastic bags, old clothes, and small electrical and electronic appliances. Large home appliances and furniture are collected by appointment. This has reduced Taipei's daily trash production by one-third and increased its recyclable trash collection by threefold.

The following table shows the amount of recycling conducted in Taiwan in 2002:

2002 Recycling Amount

Restricted Use of Plastic Shopping Bags and Disposable Tableware

Plastic shopping bags and disposable tableware are widely used throughout Taiwan due to their cheap prices and convenience. Each year, about 20 billion consumptive plastic bags totaling some 105,000 tons are used, including 65,000 tons of shopping bags, or an average 2.5 bags per person per day. Furthermore, most of these bags are made out of PE, PP, and PVC.

Disposable tableware in Taiwan consists mainly of paper, styrofoam, and PP/PE. Statistics show that about 17.7 million persons eat out every day, or roughly six million persons for each meal, producing about 59,000 tons of disposable tableware, annually. This figure includes 43,000 tons of plastic and styrofoam.

Despite their convenience, plastic bags cannot be effectively recycled. As for disposable tableware, only 15 percent to 20 percent of it is properly recycled. Thus, the EPA is currently pushing for the restricted use of both throughout Taiwan. Yilan County was the first to restrict the use of disposable plastic and styrofoam bowls and plates in January 2001. Kaohsiung City quickly followed suit in January 2002, restricting the use of plastic shopping bags and disposable plastic tableware by the government sector.

The EPA prohibited the use of plastic bags and disposable plastic and styrofoam tableware in July and October 2002, respectively, for all government and military agencies, government-run enterprises, public and private schools, and public hospitals throughout Taiwan. This restriction went into further effect in January 2003 to include all department stores, shopping malls, wholesale stores, supermarkets, convenience store chains, fast-food chains, and all food and beverage stores with a shop front.

Industrial Waste Management

Industrial waste is produced primarily by factories, farming activities, hospitals, and other business organizations. According to the Industrial Waste Control Center, industrial waste generated from factories and hospitals in Taiwan in 2002 totaled 22.69 million tons and consisted of 1.03 million tons of hazardous waste and 21.66 million tons of non-hazardous waste. Over 19,000 businesses were registered with the control center as of September 2003.

The EPA cooperates with other responsible agencies, such as the Industrial Development Bureau, to raise the percentage of industrial waste receiving proper treatment. This figure is expected to approach 100 percent by the end of 2003. Under the Waste Disposal Act amended in October 2001, manufacturers must assume responsibility for managing their waste. Violators who fail to do so could face fines from US$1,921 up to US$9,606. Those who dump hazardous waste resulting in the loss of life could be sentenced to life in prison.

The EPA is currently using its Industrial Waste Control Center facilities not only to improve the enforcement structure, but also to provide guidance to private investors establishing waste cleanup and treatment organizations, industrial waste storage centers, and waste disposal sites. The EPA is encouraging sustainable management of environmental protection businesses to effectively manage waste treatment. All of these actions are helping Taiwan achieve a balance between environmental protection and economic development.

Toxic Chemical Substance Control

Nearly 20,000 chemical substances are regularly used in Taiwan, of which approximately 6,000 are highly toxic. Pursuant to the Toxic Chemical Substance Act, the EPA has adopted a toxic chemical classification and quantity-based management system and released a list of 252 toxic chemicals for which permission for production, import, export, sale, or use must first be obtained. All enterprises that handle Class III toxic chemical substances shall submit relevant information concerning toxicity, risk prevention, and emergency planning associated with the substances to the government for reference and public inspection. Companies handling toxic chemical substances shall keep records of the amounts of such substances handled and discharged. Responsible agencies may order such companies to periodically submit such records. Companies that do not submit records after the deadline are subject to heavy fines in accordance with the law.

Based on the Waste Disposal Act, on July 1, 2002, the government initiated a new policy limiting the use of plastic shopping bags and disposable plastic tableware at food service outlets in government buildings, schools, factories, and military establishments. The policy's second stage was launched in January 2003, expanding the measures to department stores, shopping centers, membership warehouses, supermarkets, convenience stores, food outlets, and fast food restaurants.

The policy has succeeded in changing habits and reducing waste. A May 2003 report showed a 60 percent increase over the previous year in the number of people supplying their own shopping bags, and an 80 percent reduction in the number of plastic shopping bags used (62 percent by weight). Use of disposable plastic tableware fell even further, with 96 percent less utensils used (a 91 percent drop by weight).