Fri, Aug 28, 2026 page3

• Five companies, seven people suspected of illegal waste disposal in Kaohsiung

  • By Esme Yeh / Staff reporter
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  Five companies and seven people suspected of illegal dumping have been indicted, with more than 1,700m3 of business waste found at illegal disposal sites in Kaohsiung, the Environmental Management Administration said yesterday.

  The agency identified a case of illegal cross-regional waste transportation and disposal in cooperation with the Kaohsiung District Prosecutors’ Office, the National Police Agency’s Seventh Special Police Corps and the Investigation Bureau’s Kaohsiung Office.

  The prosecutors’ office filed an indictment last month, the agency said.

  

  An illegal waste transfer station set up on agricultural land in Kaohsiung is pictured in an undated photograph.

  Photo courtesy of authorities

  In February last year, the Seventh Special Police Corps received a report from a member of the public that business waste was being transported from other administrative areas to unauthorized waste storage and transfer sites in Kaohsiung’s Siaogang District (小港), it said.

  The waste was disguised as locally generated waste and transferred to incinerators in the city, the administration said.

  A task force was set up to trace the flow of illegally disposed waste and launch a cross-regional investigation, it said.

  Law enforcement personnel conducted 19 administrative inspections and constant monitoring, as well as using big-data analysis and field investigations to track waste-hauling vehicles and waste flows, the administration said.

  They also cross-referenced waste manifests, operating records and vehicle GPS tracking data, it said.

  The task force’s investigation showed that waste-removal company vehicles transported waste from northern and central Taiwan to unauthorized temporary waste storage sites in southern Taiwan, the administration said.

  In January, the prosecutors’ office directed simultaneous searches in northern and southern Taiwan and conducted searches at the storage sites in the city’s Siaogang and Lujhu (路竹) districts, it said.

  About 1,738m3 of business waste yet to be transferred to incinerators were found at these sites, the administration said.

  The task force identified nine waste-removal companies allegedly involved in the illegal dumping operation in violation of articles of the Waste Disposal Act (廢棄物清理法), it said.

  The companies are based in Changhua, Yunlin and Hualien counties, as well as Kaohsiung and New Taipei City, it said, adding that it has asked local governments to impose administrative penalties as required by law.

  Operators allegedly involved in the case would also be under criminal investigation in accordance with the act’s articles, the agency said.

  The prosecutors’ investigation concluded with an indictment brought against seven suspects, truck drivers and five companies suspected of involving in criminal violations, it said.

  The agency called on waste-removal operators to accurately report waste flows and GPS tracking data and to refrain from establishing unauthorized waste disposal or transfer sites.

  It also called on the public to call the 0800-066-666 public nuisance hotline to report any suspicious waste-hauling vehicles or suspected illegal dumping and storage of waste.
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