The Ministry of Environment has announced draft amendments to regulations on waste disposal and recycling to promote a circular economy in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Resource circulation is widely considered to be a critical pathway to achieve SDGs and net zero goals, the ministry said.
The EU’s New Circular Economy Action Plan published in 2020 has revealed the importance of incorporating sustainable and circular elements into product designs instead of traditional waste management, it said.
Photo: Chen Chia-yi, Taipei Times
As current laws are not sufficient to respond to circular economy developments and industrial demand, the ministry would revise the Resource Recycling Act (資源回收再利用法), which would be renamed “the resource circulation promotion act,” and the Waste Disposal Act (廢棄物清理法), it said.
The goal is to “maximize resource circulation benefits, minimize final waste disposal” by shifting from waste recycling to resource circulation, and introducing a more comprehensive mechanism to prevent illegal dumping, it said.
GUIDELINES
The resource circulation promotion act would facilitate interagency collaborations in establishing a national resource circulation program, it said.
It would also enable authorities to establish green design guidelines for products and construction projects, set packaging reuse or reduction targets for businesses, and prohibit or restrict the production, import, sale or use of certain products and packaging, the ministry said.
The government would offer rewards or subsidies for companies or organizations purchasing circular products, it said.
The ministry said that amendments to the Waste Disposal Act would focus on clamping down on illegal waste disposal.
Resource Circulation Administration Director-General Lai Ying-ying (賴瑩瑩) on Thursday said the amended Waste Disposal Act would require manufacturers and importers to pay a “clearance and disposal fee” for their business waste.
REGULATION OF FEES
The ministry had been exploring the feasibility of charging a “resource circulation promotion fee” to fund business waste recycling and reuse, but decided on imposing the “clearance and disposal fee,” Lai said.
The ministry made the decision mainly because of business operators’ concerns about inflationary spikes while they are already financially burdened with other environmental charges such as carbon, air pollution, and soil and groundwater pollution remediation fees, she said.
The ministry replaced the “resource circulation promotion fee” with the “clearance and disposal fee,” so that manufacturers or importers can be held responsible if their business generates waste that is difficult to be recycled or illegally dumped, she said.
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