Littering along Taiwan’s coasts decreased 33 percent last year, an Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) report released on Tuesday last week showed.
About 955 tonnes of litter was collected on beaches last year — 33 percent less than the 1,426 tonnes collected in 2021, the agency said, adding that it was the third consecutive annual drop in coastal litter.
The report, titled “2022 Project of Promoting and Maintaining Clean Coasts and Performance Management: Rapid Assessment and Source Analysis,” said only 5 percent of the total was collected along the east coast.
Photo courtesy of the Penghu National Scenic Administration via CNA
The section of the west coast spanning Changhua, Yunlin and Chiayi counties, and Tainan accounted for 26 percent, followed by 11 percent collected in Kaohsiung and Pingtung County, it said.
The most heavily polluted coasts were in Kinmen County, which contributed 14 percent to the total, while Penghu County accounted for 10 percent and Lienchiang County for 7 percent, it showed.
The report was commissioned by the EPA and conducted by Taiwanese environmental consultancy IndigoWaters, which offers services and advice to governments on the management of coastal and ocean pollution.
IndigoWaters CEO Yen Ning (顏寧) said that litter from the fishing industry made up 59 percent of coastal garbage on Taiwan proper.
The report highlighted the origins of plastic bottles and cans, sampling 500 pieces of litter collected at random from 10 coastal garbage hot spots, Yen said, adding that it also assessed how long they had been at sea.
Categorizing them as originating from Taiwan, China or elsewhere, the report said that Chinese bottles and cans accounted for 95 percent in Kinmen, Yen said.
In Pingtung, Yunlin and Chiayi, 58 percent were Taiwanese bottles and cans, she said.
Eighty-six percent had been at sea for less than three years, Yen added.
Local governments should schedule beach cleanups and recycling events based on local industries and seasonal weather patterns, Yen said.
For example, byproducts of the oyster industry in Yunlin, Chiayi and Tainan are typically carried southwest from July to September, she added.
SEND A MESSAGE: Sinking the amphibious assault ship, the lead warship of its class, is meant to show China the US Navy is capable of sinking their ships, an analyst said The US and allied navies plan to sink a 40,000-tonne ship at the latest Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise to simulate defeating a Chinese amphibious assault on Taiwan. This year’s RIMPAC — the 29th iteration of the world’s largest naval exercise — involves the US, 28 partners, more than 25,000 personnel, 40 warships, three submarines and more than 150 aircraft operating in and around Hawaii from yesterday to Aug. 1, the US Navy said in a press release. The major components of the event include multidomain warfare exercises in multiship surface engagements, anti-submarine warfare and multi-axis defense of a carrier strike
Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China when traveling in countries with close ties to Beijing, Taiwan Association of University Professors deputy chairman Chen Li-fu (陳俐甫) said on Friday. Chen’s comments came after China on Friday last week announced new judicial guidelines targeting Taiwanese independence advocates. Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Djibouti are among the countries where Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China, he said. The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday elevated the travel alert for China, Hong Kong and Macau to “orange” after Beijing announced its guidelines to “severely punish Taiwanese independence diehards for splitting the country and inciting secession.” Extradition treaties
The airspace around Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) is to be closed for an hour on July 25 and July 23 respectively, due to the Han Kuang military exercises, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. The annual exercise is to be held on Taiwan proper and its outlying islands from July 22 to 26. During last year’s exercise, the military conducted anti-aircraft landing drills at the Taoyuan airport for the first time, for which a one-hour no-fly ban was issued. Based on a live-fire bulletin sent out by the Maritime and Port Bureau, the nation’s
CROSS-BORDER CRIME: The suspects cannot be charged with cybercrime in Indonesia as their targets were in Malaysia, an Indonesian immigration director said Indonesian immigration authorities have detained 103 Taiwanese after a raid at a villa on Bali, officials said yesterday. They were accused of misusing their visas and residence permits, and are suspected of possible cybercrimes, Safar Muhammad Godam, director of immigration supervision and enforcement at the Indonesian Ministry of Law and Human Rights told reporters at a news conference. “The 103 foreign nationals stayed at the villa and conducted suspicious activities, which we suspect are activities related to cybercrime activities,” he said, presenting laptops and routers at the news conference. Godam said Indonesian authorities cannot charge them with conducting cybercrime. “During the inspection, we