A proposal to build a third landfill in Neikou in the Neihu District would waste taxpayers' money and threaten the environment, a Taipei city councilor and environmentalists opposed to the project said yesterday.
DPP city councilor Wu Shih-cheng (吳世正) said at a meeting yesterday to discuss the landfill that the project was unnecessary because garbage levels have been reduced dramatically since July.
"It simply doesn't make sense to build a bigger facility after the city's total garbage volume has dropped by 40 percent" since July 1, the day Taipei's new garbage disposal initiative went into effect, Wu said.
When the project was on the drawing board roughly 10 years ago, a 56-hectare site had been planned. Now the city is planning a 107-hectare landfill at a cost of NT$15 billion -- an expense Wu called wasteful.
The project, if completed, would have a lifespan of between 38 and 100 years.
"The land acquisition alone is going to cost roughly NT$5.5 billion, not to mention NT$9.5 billion in development and construction fees," Wu said. "I suspect there are other interest groups involved in the decision making process."
Lin Yang-tai (林陽泰), chairman of the New Environment Foundation, also said that the landfill project seemed to make little economic sense.
"We would like to see our money used in an effective way, especially when the city claims to be desperate financially," Lin said.
Lin said Taipei could make better use of the Futekeng landfill in Mucha instead of "sabotaging the beautiful environment, which is so rich in natural resources" in Neihu.
Wu Jiunn-tzong (吳俊宗), research fellow at Academia Sinica's Institute of Botany, agreed.
"When the damage to the natural environment is done, it's very hard to restore it to its original state," he said.
Cheng Hsien-chang (鄭憲章), executive director of the Chinese Quality Association for Community Environment, called on the city government to drop the project.
"We're not saying that we don't need any landfill, but don't you think it's a better idea to build a smaller and cheaper facility?" Cheng said.
But Stephen Shen (沈世宏), director of the city's Bureau of Environmental Protection, was unconvinced.
"It's impossible to reverse the decision because it's a well-thought-out one to begin with, and to build a smaller and cheaper facility may slow down the entire process," Shen said.
In addition, Shen claimed, there wouldn't be an immediate impact to the environment because the project will be implemented in six phases.
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