As the amount of business waste is overtaking incinerator capacity, the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) is promoting turning business refuse into solid recovered fuel (SRF).
Turning waste into energy can resolve waste disposal challenges and reduce fossil fuel use, EPA Deputy Minister Shen Chih-hsiu (沈志修) said on Friday.
Twenty-six percent of all waste incinerated last year came from commercial and industrial sources, Shen said, citing EPA data.
The power generation efficiency of incinerating regular waste is about 20 percent, but it can be increased to 30 percent via treatment, he added.
SRF is created from combustible components of waste, including plastics, biodegradable material, paper and metal.
It has a low environmental impact and low cost, and can be used as a substitute fuel in high-efficiency boilers and combustion facilities, emitting far less carbon than coal, Shen said.
Using SRF in industrial burners could lighten the load on incinerators, he added.
“At the moment, there is not enough capacity to handle household waste,” Shen said. “Hopefully, high-caloric refuse will not be incinerated, increasing capacity for household waste.”
About 2 million tonnes of business waste is incinerated every year, 700,000 tonnes of which can be turned into SRF, Department of Waste Management Director-General Lai Ying-ying (賴瑩瑩) said.
The EPA and the Ministry of Economic Affairs would work together to develop the field, Lai added.
Ling Yung-sheng (凌韻生), director of the Industrial Development Bureau’s Sustainable Development Division, said that the manufacturing sector produces more than 17 million tonnes of waste every year.
Through experimentation, testing and help from the EPA in establishing regulations, refuse can be transformed from a burden into an energy source, he said.
It could also form a new industrial supply chain, generating more economic benefits, he added.
“Waste is a misplaced resource,” Industrial Technology Research Institute green energy division deputy director Wan Hao-peng (萬皓鵬) said. “If it can be transformed into energy, new industrial applications could be developed.”
The institute has been researching SRF since 2001, Wan said, estimating that the nation is capable of transforming about 2.7 million tonnes of business waste into about 370 megawatts of energy, enough to power nearly 600,000 homes.
The paper, fabric and cement industries are contributing the most to SRF production, Shen said, expressing the hope that more industries would join in.
The EPA estimated that next year, 390,000 tonnes of waste would be transformed into fuel, increasing to 470,000 tonnes by 2023.
RESOLUTIONS DEBATE: Taiwan’s allies said that UN and WHA resolutions cited by China and other nations ‘do not determine Taiwan’s participation in WHO activities’ A proposal to invite Taiwan to this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA) was rejected on Monday, resulting in Taipei’s absence from the annual meeting for a ninth consecutive year, although partners spoke up for Taiwan’s participation at the first day of the meeting. The first agenda item after the opening was a “two-on-two debate” on a proposal to invite Taiwan to participate at the WHA as an observer. Similar to previous years, two countries made statements in favor of the proposal, while two others expressed their opposition. Philippine Secretary of Health Teodoro Herbosa, president of the 78th WHA, accepted the WHA General Committee’s
Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr arrived in Taiwan last night to kick off his first visit to the country since beginning his second term earlier this year. After arriving at Taoyuan International Airport at around 6:30 pm, Whipps and his delegation were welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). Speaking to gathered media, the Palauan leader said he was excited and honored to be back in Taiwan on his first state visit to Taiwan since he was sworn in this January. Among those traveling with Whipps is Minister of State Gustav N. Aitaro, Public Infrastructure
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) on Friday laid out the Cabinet’s updated policy agenda and recapped the government’s achievements ahead of the one-year anniversary of President William Lai’s (賴清德) inauguration. Cho said the government had made progress across a range of areas, including rebuilding Hualien, cracking down on fraud, improving pedestrian safety and promoting economic growth. “I hope the public will not have the impression that the Cabinet only asked the legislature to reconsider a bunch of legal amendments,” Cho said, calling the moves “necessary” to protect constitutional governance and the public’s interest. The Cabinet would work toward achieving its “1+7” plan, he said. The
Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) hosted a dinner in Taipei last night with key Taiwanese suppliers to celebrate the successful mass production of the company’s new Blackwell AI systems. Speaking to the media earlier yesterday, Huang thanked Nvidia’s Taiwanese partners for their contributions to the company’s ecosystem, while also sharing his plans to meet with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) founder Morris Chang (張忠謀). In response to rumors that Nvidia will launch a downgraded Hopper H20 chip for China in July, Huang dismissed the reports, saying, “That is not true.” He clarified that there