The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) will phase out the practice of its sanitation teams collecting kitchen refuse as feed for hog farms beginning Jan. 1 next year, EPA Minister Chang Kuo-lung (
Chang said the decision was made at the request of the Council of Agriculture as a measure to prevent possible swine diseases from spreading.
EPA statistics show that the nation's 25 counties and cities generate about 45,000 tonnes of kitchen refuse, of which 70 percent is fed to pigs and the remaining 30 percent becomes compost to be used as fertilizer.
Chang said that although the refuse is pasteurized with high temperatures before being fed to pigs, there is no guarantee that the method can prevent all hog-related diseases. He said Taiwan's NT$40 billion (US$1.23 billion) hog-raising industry cannot afford the outbreak of a swine plague.
Chang admitted that the nation's 21 compost-processing plants, with a combined handling capacity of 450 tonnes a day, cannot cope with the 1,400 tonnes of kitchen refuse collected each day. It is, therefore, unlikely that the EPA will impose a total ban on swill feeding.
But he said the practice will be phased out eventually, with kitchen refuse to be recycled as compost.
This, however, does not affect contracted collection by private sanitation companies, he said.
Swill feeding of swine is popular in many countries as a way to lower production costs, but the practice is known to be a risk that can cause diseases such as hoof and mouth, African swine fever and classical swine fever.
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 8:39pm tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 38.7km east-northeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 98.3km, the CWA’s Seismological Center said. The quake’s maximum intensity, which gauges the actual physical effect of a seismic event, was a level 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the center said. That intensity level was recorded in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳), Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), Nantou County’s Hehuanshan (合歡山) and Hualien County’s Yanliao (鹽寮). An intensity of 3 was
Instead of focusing solely on the threat of a full-scale military invasion, the US and its allies must prepare for a potential Chinese “quarantine” of Taiwan enforced through customs inspections, Stanford University Hoover fellow Eyck Freymann said in a Foreign Affairs article published on Wednesday. China could use various “gray zone” tactics in “reconfiguring the regional and ultimately the global economic order without a war,” said Freymann, who is also a nonresident research fellow at the US Naval War College. China might seize control of Taiwan’s links to the outside world by requiring all flights and ships entering or leaving Taiwan
The first of 10 new high-capacity trains purchased from South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem arrived at the Port of Taipei yesterday to meet the demands of an expanding metro network, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. The train completed a three-day, 1,200km voyage from the Port of Masan in South Korea, the company said. Costing NT$590 million (US$18.79 million) each, the new six-carriage trains feature a redesigned interior based on "human-centric" transportation concepts, TRTC said. The design utilizes continuous longitudinal seating to widen the aisles and optimize passenger flow, while also upgrading passenger information displays and driving control systems for a more comfortable
Taiwan's first indigenous defense submarine, the SS-711 Hai Kun (海鯤, or Narwhal), departed for its 13th sea trial at 7am today, marking its seventh submerged test, with delivery to the navy scheduled for July. The outing also marked its first sea deployment since President William Lai (賴清德) boarded the submarine for an inspection on March 19, drawing a crowd of military enthusiasts who gathered to show support. The submarine this morning departed port accompanied by CSBC Corp’s Endeavor Manta (奮進魔鬼魚號) uncrewed surface vessel and a navy M109 assault boat. Amid public interest in key milestones such as torpedo-launching operations and overnight submerged trials,
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