The Ministry of Environment plans to propose stricter regulations on heavy metals and dioxins related to solid recovered fuel (SRF) by the end of the year, it said on Friday after releasing a report on the results of its nationwide inspection of 48 manufacturers and 18 users of SRFs.
SRFs are made from nonhazardous waste from businesses that can be burned as fuel, Minister of Environment Peng Chi-ming (彭啟明) said, adding that quality SRFs can only be produced through purification and homogenization.
The ministry would propose new SRF regulations by the end of the year to establish a third-party certification system, install closed-circuit television systems to monitor the areas where materials are collected and impose stricter standards on the emission of harmful substances such as dioxins, Resource Circulation Administration Director-General Lai Ying-ying (賴瑩瑩) said.
Photo: Wu Po-hsuan, Taipei Times
Under the stricter regulations, companies in the industry would have to make more effort and invest more to improve their products and processes, Peng said, adding that “this is not to increase the companies’ costs, but to increase Taiwan’s assets.”
SRF production volume has increased from 50,000 tonnes in 2019 to 290,000 tonnes last year, and most manufacturers were small and medium-sized businesses, Lai said, citing the report.
Although one manufacturer did not install an essential device for purification and homogenization of SRF, all manufacturers’ SRF products met quality standards, she said, adding that SRF combustion efficiency could be improved.
Eighteen manufacturers did not report where their products were sold, although it was required by law, and one manufacturer has never reported the destinations of its products, she said.
While 29 manufacturers sold SRF products directly to users in accordance with regulations, 11 did not and eight had yet to sell their products, she added.
Most SRF users were factories of large companies in the paper, cement and power supply industries, which mainly used coal, Lai said.
Although SRF-users’ sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxide emissions met regulations, 25 percent of the users fell short of the emission standards for dioxins, she said.
Overall, 52 to 70 percent of SRF manufacturers met standards and 30 to 48 percent needed improvements, while more than 90 percent of SRF users met standards and 6 percent should improve, she said.
Meanwhile, 14 SRF producers said they would leave the market after the inspection, while two manufacturers said they would stop production as SRF was not their main product, Lai said.
Two users said they would use other fuels instead of SRFs, she said.
Ten manufacturers said they would transition from the market as their waste had simple properties and as they had matured their waste reuse technology, she said.
About 6.5 million tonnes of waste is sent to incinerators every year, 1.8 million tonnes of which is business waste, Deputy Minister of Environment Shen Chih-hsiu (沈志修) said.
If business waste could be recycled using SRF production technology, incinerator capacity could be freed for burning noncommercial waste, which would reduce “waste mountains” in Taiwan, he said.
Travel agencies in Taiwan are working to secure alternative flights for travelers bound for New Zealand for the Lunar New Year holiday, as Air New Zealand workers are set to strike next week. The airline said that it has confirmed that the planned industrial action by its international wide-body cabin crew would go ahead on Thursday and Friday next week. While the Auckland-based carrier pledged to take reasonable measures to mitigate the impact of the workers’ strike, an Air New Zealand flight arriving at Taipei from Auckland on Thursday and another flight departing from Taipei for Auckland on Saturday would have to
The manufacture of the remaining 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks Taiwan purchased from the US has recently been completed, and they are expected to be delivered within the next one to two months, a source said yesterday. The Ministry of National Defense is arranging cargo ships to transport the tanks to Taiwan as soon as possible, said the source, who is familiar with the matter. The estimated arrival time ranges from late this month to early next month, the source said. The 28 Abrams tanks make up the third and final batch of a total of 108 tanks, valued at about NT$40.5 billion
A group from the Taiwanese Designers in Australia association yesterday represented Taiwan at the Midsumma Pride March in Melbourne. The march, held in the St. Kilda suburb, is the city’s largest LGBTQIA+ parade and the flagship event of the annual Midsumma Festival. It attracted more than 45,000 spectators who supported the 400 groups and 10,000 marchers that participated this year, the association said. Taiwanese Designers said they organized a team to march for Taiwan this year, joining politicians, government agencies, professionals and community organizations in showing support for LGBTQIA+ people and diverse communities. As the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex
MOTIVES QUESTIONED The PLA considers Xi’s policies toward Taiwan to be driven by personal considerations rather than military assessment, the Epoch Times reports Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) latest purge of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) leadership might have been prompted by the military’s opposition to plans of invading Taiwan, the Epoch Times said. The Chinese military opposes waging war against Taiwan by a large consensus, putting it at odds with Xi’s vision, the Falun Gong-affiliated daily said in a report on Thursday, citing anonymous sources with insight into the PLA’s inner workings. The opposition is not the opinion of a few generals, but a widely shared view among the PLA cadre, the Epoch Times cited them as saying. “Chinese forces know full well that
RSS