The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) yesterday proposed a new land reclamation project that would make use of solid waste and garbage as part of an effort to help solve the nation’s waste disposal problems.
The land reclamation plan would increase the country’s coastline and ease pressure on waste disposal processes and the nation’s old landfills, which are inadequate and nearly filled to capacity, causing rampant illegal dumping, Environmental Protection Administration Minister Stephen Shen (沈世宏) said during a meeting.
According to the agency, Taiwan generates between 3.8 million and 7 million cubic meters of waste that needs to be disposed of each year.
It added that this would become an issue when the few remaining dump sites are full, which could happen in just a few years.
The agency said its proposal, which is to be trialed at seaports first, was intended to draw on the experiences of Japan and Singapore in using waste to reclaim land.
Taiwan has four international harbors — Keelung, Taichung, Kaohsiung and Hualien — and four subordinate seaports — Taipei Harbor, Suao Harbor, Anping Harbor and Yungan LNG Seaport.
At the meeting, representatives from Taipei Harbor suggested that their port be allowed to accept treated and physically and chemically stable waste from the private sector to help solve the dumping issue and facilitate the seaport’s land reclamation projects.
New Taipei City (新北市) officials suggested that incinerator bottom ash — in addition to being recycled for commercial purposes — be used as one of the materials to reclaim land.
Aside from the technical details about how land would be reclaimed, the agency said that such a project would require the approval of the Executive Yuan before it could be carried out.
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