Taiwan would face an estimated daily shortfall of 500 tonnes in kitchen waste capacity if the government were to continue banning its use as pig feed following last month’s outbreak of African swine fever, Minister of Environment Peng Chi-ming (彭啟明) said today.
The Ministry of Environment is working with local governments to review capacity and negotiate land use, while investigating medium to long-term solutions, he told reporters ahead of a meeting at the legislature.
The ministry is exploring biomass energy solutions, rapid composting and black soldier fly farming, in which larvae are raised to convert organic waste into animal feed and fertilizer, he said.
Photo: Tung Chen-kuo, Taipei Times
Assessments are expected to take one to two years, he added.
Epidemiological results released on Monday showed that the first case of African swine fever detected in Taiwan was likely caused by improperly sanitized kitchen waste used as pig feed at the infected hog farm in Taichung.
Use of kitchen waste as pig feed was banned temporarily after the outbreak last month, and extended after Monday’s finding.
Last year, Taiwan produced 772,000 tonnes of kitchen waste, or 2,115 tonnes per day, which included 505,000 tonnes from households and 267,000 tonnes from businesses, ministry data showed.
The estimated shortfall of 500 tonnes would mostly come from restaurants, catering companies and other businesses, which poses a greater challenge than household kitchen waste, as it cannot be integrated into existing systems, Peng said.
The issue would vary by region, with the six special municipalities facing the greatest pressure and requiring tailored solutions, he said.
This is particularly true in Taichung, which already struggles with waste disposal, he said.
As for Pingtung County, it can handle the 40 tonnes of kitchen waste it produces per day, but many counties in the south send their waste to Pingtung for treatment and could soon face difficulties with the increased volume, he added.
AGING: While Japan has 22 submarines, Taiwan only operates four, two of which were commissioned by the US in 1945 and 1946, and transferred to Taiwan in 1973 Taiwan would need at least 12 submarines to reach modern fleet capabilities, CSBC Corp, Taiwan chairman Chen Cheng-hung (陳政宏) said in an interview broadcast on Friday, citing a US assessment. CSBC is testing the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, the Hai Kun (海鯤, Narwhal), which is scheduled to be delivered to the navy next month or in July. The Hai Kun has completed torpedo-firing tests and is scheduled to undergo overnight sea trials, Chen said on an SET TV military affairs program. Taiwan would require at least 12 submarines to establish a modern submarine force after assessing the nation’s operational environment and defense
A white king snake that frightened passengers and caused a stir on a Taipei MRT train on Friday evening has been claimed by its owner, who would be fined, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. A person on Threads posted that he thought he was lucky to find an empty row of seats on Friday after boarding a train on the Bannan (Blue) Line, only to spot a white snake with black stripes after sitting down. Startled, he jumped up, he wrote, describing the encounter as “terrifying.” “Taipei’s rat control plan: Release snakes on the metro,” one person wrote in reply, referring
The coast guard today said that it had disrupted "illegal" operations by a Chinese research ship in waters close to the nation and driven it away, part of what Taipei sees a provocative pattern of China's stepped up maritime activities. The coast guard said that it on Thursday last week detected the Chinese ship Tongji (同濟號), which was commissioned only last year, 29 nautical miles (54km) southeast of the southern tip of Taiwan, although just outside restricted waters. The ship was observed lowering ropes into the water, suspected to be the deployment of scientific instruments for "illegal" survey operations, and the coast
Taiwan’s two cases of hantavirus so far this year are on par with previous years’ case numbers, and the government is coordinating rat extermination work, so there should not be any outbreaks, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said today in an interview with the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper). An increase in rat sightings in Taipei and New Taipei City has raised concerns about the spread of hantavirus, as rats can carry the disease. In January, a man in his 70s who lived in Taipei’s Daan District (大安) tested positive posthumously for hantavirus, Taiwan’s
RSS