The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) has scheduled four conferences in August aimed at developing a consensus on a proposed sea reclamation project using waste resources.
Industrial manufacturing and economic development have contributed to the generation of waste, the EPA said, adding that although about 80 percent of industrial waste is now reused or recycled, a shortage of landfill sites has led to an increase in illegal dumping.
Given that existing landfill and construction soil treatment sites are expected to reach capacity within three to four years, while local community protests hinder the building of news ones, the lack of final disposal sites has become a serious problem, the EPA said.
To address this problem, the EPA, drawing on the experience of countries such as Japan and Singapore, has proposed an interdepartmental project, creating a landfill by sea reclamation using waste resources.
The project, which has aroused concern that it could cause pollution, is now undergoing an environmental impact assessment, it said.
The EPA cited successful examples of sea reclamation using waste materials, such as the Tokyo Bay Central Breakwater Reclamation Project and the Osaka Bay Phoenix Project in Japan and the Pulau Semakau in Singapore, adding that not only did they solve the problem of waste treatment, but also created new land.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
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