The Control Yuan on Friday censured the administrative office on Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) for leaving more than 547 tonnes of mixed waste untreated in a landfill last year.
The Taitung County Government — which administers Orchid Island — has since 2012 been using subsidies offered by the central government to contract waste disposal operators to transport waste to Taiwan proper for disposal amid increasing amounts of garbage on the island, Control Yuan members said.
The rate of disposal was 100 percent in the first six years, but it plummeted to 62.9 percent in 2018, prompting the central government to launch an investigation, which was conducted by Control Yuan members Yang Fang-ling (楊芳玲) and Chang Jen-hsiang (章仁香), who visited the island in September last year.
Yang and Chang concluded that the Lanyu Township Office had contravened the Basic Environment Act (環境基本法) by failing to properly implement waste treatment and recycling policies.
Apart from piles of untreated garbage, they found large and recyclable trash littering the regular-trash zone in the landfill, they said.
Other waste was also found on several other sites across the island, including abandoned boats and bicycles, building materials, scooter exhaust pipes and tires, pieces of furniture and other household trash, the officials said in a report.
The vessel contracted to transport waste was undergoing annual maintenance in November 2018 and a northeast monsoon posed a safety hazard to sailing, rendering the island unable to transport its accumulated waste, the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) said in the report.
The EPA and the county government should take waste disposal seriously and figure out ways to prevent a similar situation from occurring, the Control Yuan members said.
The office said it is common practice for island residents to place personal belongings, such as refrigerators, washing machines or TVs, on public land, and disputes might arise if garbage collectors removed the objects without the owners’ consent.
The office urged residents not to place garbage on public land.
UNDER INVESTIGATION: Huang’s body was found just outside the bathroom and showed no signs of a struggle, and no alcohol or drugs were found Singer and actor Alien Huang (黃鴻升) was found dead at his home in Taipei’s Beitou District (北投) yesterday. He was 36. Huang was also known by the nickname Xiao Gui (“little ghost”). His body was found when his father went to check on him after being unable to reach him by telephone, and called emergency services to the house at 11am, the Taipei City Police Department said. Huang’s body, which was discovered just outside the bathroom, showed no signs of a physical struggle, and he appeared to have been dead for some time, police said, adding that no drugs or alcohol were
Scooter riders should regularly clean their helmets, especially in summer, to prevent dirt and sweat from accumulating and causing scalp problems, such as hair loss and permanent baldness, a dermatologist has warned. Poor hygiene practices by helmet wearers often lead to scalp problems, such as bacterial folliculitis, tinea capitis and seborrheic dermatitis, Lu Pei-hsuan (呂佩璇) at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital said on Aug 31. The first step to maintain good scalp care is proper hair washing, as shampoo residues can easily cause dandruff and itchy scalps, while improper scratching will cause inflammation, Lu said. The best way to wash your hair is to
CONFIRMED IN PHILIPPINES: The CECC would conduct contact tracing for the migrant workers to determine if they had come into contact with elderly people or children Six Filipinos tested positive for COVID-19 upon returning home from Taiwan, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday as it reported a case of imported COVID-19 infection, bringing the number of confirmed cases in Taiwan to 500. Philippine authorities reported four of the cases through the National IHR Focal Point, while the other two were reported by the company that they had worked for in Taiwan. The six — five women and one man — are aged from their 20s to 40s, and worked as in-home care workers, domestic workers, factory workers and sailors in Taiwan, said Minister of Health and
INTIMIDATION: Chinese military maneuvers have mostly led to heightened support for Taiwan’s defense forces, while China appears poised to continue its campaign China’s incessant military activities in and near the Taiwan Strait over the past several months are “greater in meaning than in substance,” and are aimed at polarizing Taiwanese society, a researcher said in a report published on Friday. China has attempted to intimidate Taiwan through military threats, while at the same time calling on Taiwanese and US officials to practice restraint, which is aimed at causing a rift between those who prefer resistance against China and those who prefer peace, said Lee Kuan-cheng (李冠成), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research. “China’s goal is to obscure public awareness
RSS