EPA hopes to crack down on violators in eastern Taiwan

Gravel thieves and litter bugs in eastern Taiwan may not get away with violating environmental laws for much longer, Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) officials said yesterday at a Taipei press conference.

Starting this month, a troop of EPA inspectors will be stationed in Taitung City to closely monitor local compliance with environmental laws, the administration's deputy inspector-general Huang Hui-yuan (黃輝源) told reporters.

"[The troop] will be responsible for handling public complaints, reports and disputes regarding environmental violations in Eastern Taiwan, including Taitung and Hualien," Huang said.

The troop will be sent to the Hualien environmental technological park when it opens, he said.

Violations include illegal mining of gravel, dumping of commercial waste and other acts that damage the environment, he said.

"In the past we have seen violators renting farm land in central and southern Taiwan. They then illegally mine the gravel under the soil and gain profits of around NT$30 million per hectare," he said.

With the establishment of a local troop doing night inspections, the administration was hoping to prevent such acts from happening in eastern Taiwan, he said.

So far, no such cases have been reported, he said.

In related news yesterday at the same press conference EPA minister Winston Dang (陳重信) lauded the hard work contributed by the nation's street cleaners and garbage collectors.

"The recycling rate in the country has reached an impressive 37.5 percent" effectively reducing Taiwan's total amount of garbage, Dang said.

"Our goal is to sort, recycle and reuse all types of garbage and eventually dispose of nothing," he said.

Saying that the period from now until Lunar New Year was their busiest time of the year, Dang urged Taiwanese to smile and thank the street cleaners for keeping Taiwan clean.

Dang also said the administration is giving street workers gift boxes containing environmentally-friendly household products.