Since the mandated installation of global positioning systems (GPS) on all trucks that ferry harmful waste to disposal grounds, the amount of diseased pig meat properly incinerated has increased by 700 percent, the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) said yesterday.
GPS units were installed on all such trucks in 2006 and have drastically cut the amount of unfit pig meat illegally turned into sausages or fish meal, the administration told a press conference.
In view of the success of the surveillance measure, the administration announced that it had rented 40 Ultra Mobile Personal Computers (UMPC) to install in the vehicles of its inspectors and environmental protection police to bolster efforts.
The UMPCs will bolster the administration's efforts to track harmful waste, Solid Waste Control Bureau-Director General Ho Soong-chin (
Since 2006, GPS units are installed in the waste disposal vehicles of all businesses whose operations generate any substance defined as harmful to the environment or human health, including chemicals, biohazards and spoiled or diseased meat, she said.
"The GPS units are linked directly to the EPA's monitoring center and track any irregular routes that the vehicles take so that those who dispose of waste illegally can be caught by the administration," she said.
Since the installation of GPS, the amount of diseased pig meat processed by government-owned incinerators has increased by at least 40,000 tonnes per year, she said.
The rise clearly indicates that "people are much more compliant with the law since the surveillance system was implemented," Ho said.
Ho said the administration had found flaws with the system, however. The EPA tracks the trucks at its headquarters and then sends inspectors or environmental protection police to the site of suspected illegal dumping. The gap in time sometimes is long enough for the dumpers to have left the scene, depriving the administration of key evidence.
By installing UMPCs in the vehicles of inspectors and police, the EPA hopes to catch more dumpers red-handed.
"The UMPCs will transform an inspector's car into a mobile EPA monitoring center," she explained. "In addition, the PCs are capable of mapping out detailed driving routes to arrive at the violator's location so that even less time is lost."
The administration is renting the PCs for NT$40,000 per unit per year. If the systems prove effective in catching illegal dumpers, the agency may purchase them, she said.
Forty UMPCs are ready to hit the road on Saturday, Ho said, adding that the vehicles will be placed at EPA subagencies across the country.
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck off Taitung County at 1:09pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 53km northeast of Taitung County Hall at a depth of 12.5km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Taitung County and Hualien County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Nantou County, Chiayi County, Yunlin County, Kaohsiung and Tainan, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage following the quake.
Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), a Taiwanese businessman and deputy convener of the nation’s National Climate Change Committee, said yesterday that “electrical power is national power” and nuclear energy is “very important to Taiwan.” Tung made the remarks, suggesting that his views do not align with the country’s current official policy of phasing out nuclear energy, at a forum organized by the Taiwan People’s Party titled “Challenges and Prospects of Taiwan’s AI Industry and Energy Policy.” “Taiwan is currently pursuing industries with high added- value and is developing vigorously, and this all requires electricity,” said the chairman
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) is to begin his one-year alternative military service tomorrow amid ongoing legal issues, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. Wang, who last month was released on bail of NT$150,000 (US$4,561) as he faces charges of allegedly attempting to evade military service and forging documents, has been ordered to report to Taipei Railway Station at 9am tomorrow, the Alternative Military Service Training and Management Center said. The 33-year-old would join about 1,300 other conscripts in the 263rd cohort of general alternative service for training at the Chenggong Ling camp in Taichung, a center official told reporters. Wang would first
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