The success of Taiwan’s waste reduction and recycling schemes makes it a green model for countries worldwide, according to the ROC Environmental Protection Administration Aug. 22.
“Taiwan used to be an island with serious air pollution and garbage problems,” EPA Minister Stephen Shu-hung Shen said. “But it now stands as an example of what can be achieved through the implementation of advanced waste management practices.”
Shen made the comments at a function in Taipei City marking the EPA’s 25th anniversary. Also attending were former EPA ministers Eugene You-hsin Chien and Jaw Shau-kong, as well as Taipei City Mayor Hau Lung-bin.
The “garbage wars” of the 1980s, when piles of trash rotted in the streets and local governments clashed with citizens on how best to manage the situation, are no more than a distant memory, the minister said.
A series of policies was adopted by the ROC government to cope with the problem, he added, citing the construction of 21 mega incinerators and implementation of a nationwide mandatory household garbage sorting policy.
These initiatives delivered outstanding results, with the average daily weight of trash produced by the citizenry slashed from 1.14 kilograms in 1997 to 0.43 kilograms in 2011. During the same period, the waste recycling rate increased from 5.87 percent to over 60 percent, making Taiwan one of the world’s leaders in reuse management.
“This was a miracle in terms of environmental protection,” Shen said, attributing the result to EPA officials, environmental protection activists and the public.
Improving Taiwan’s air quality is another goal of the EPA, the minister said. “Our air quality monitoring stations recorded pollution standard index readings of 100-plus for only 1.38 percent of 2011, a vast difference compared to 17 percent 25 years ago.”
With the EPA set to join the Forestry Bureau and Water Resources Agency under the newly established Ministry of Environmental Resources next year, Shen said the government expects to accomplish even more in transforming Taiwan into a low-carbon and high-recycling homeland. (JSM)
Write to Rachel Chan at ccchan@mofa.gov.tw