The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) will model Taiwan's first ecoindustrial park -- expected to be launched in July next year -- on Japan's eco-towns, making Taiwan the second Asian country to establish such a resource recovery complex.
To promote waste-to-energy industries, the EPA has allocated NT$256.8 million for selecting three local authorities next year to build three ecoindustrial parks in northern, central, and southern Taiwan.
"This [the proposed ecoindustrial park] will not be just a place for waste treatment plants," EPA Deputy Administrator Chang Chu-enn (
The establishment of eco-industrial parks in Taiwan aims to recycle resources -- making industries more ecologically friendly -- and upgrade environmental technologies, said Yang Ching-shi (楊慶熙), deputy director of the EPA's Solid Waste Control Bureau.
Yang said many developed countries, such as Denmark, the US, Canada, Spain, the Netherlands and Japan, have built similar parks.
"The cooperation between Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and Ministry of the Environment has led to the approval of 16 ecotown construction projects in Japan," Yang said.
EPA officials said that Taiwan's future ecoindustrial parks would be devoid of emissions and would be similar to Japan's.
Taking Japan's Kitakyushu Ecotown Project as an example, Chang said that industrial firms in the park will not only reduce emissions but also recycle usable resources.
In addition, Chang said, these firms will collectively integrate their energy use to improve overall energy efficiency.
Chang said the park's Practical Research Center -- comprised of universities and private companies involved in recycling and waste management -- will ensure that the park and the city interact closely.
The park's Comprehensive Environmental Industrial Complex will bring together commercial recycling industries.
"The park will create at least 800 job opportunities for local residents," Chang said.
Chang said that Taiwan's ecoindustrial parks would introduce foreign advanced environmental technologies, integrate available local environmental professionals and use unused lands in industrial parks.
In addition, industrial firms will jointly take the lead to achieve the common goal of creating a sustainable society.
Yang said the EPA plans to spend 10 years to complete three ecoindustrial parks.
Alltogether the parks will cover about 100 hectares of unused land in existing industrial parks that the Industrial Development Bureau, under the Ministry of Economic Affairs, supervises.
The EPA will give local authorities a NT$5 billion subsidy to solicit business opportunities. The three parks will be home to at least 60 firms involved in environmental technologies, which are expected to create 1,000 job opportunities and NT$35 billion in annual business sales.
As of last week, 11 local authorities have filed applications to appeal for cooperation with the central government.
"When the three parks are completed, the government will spend less than NT$2.5 billion to treat waste and turn 2.5 million tonnes of waste into useful resources each year," Yang said.
RSS