The Ministry of Environment plans to propose stricter regulations on heavy metals and dioxins related to solid recovered fuel (SRF) by the end of the year, it said on Friday after releasing a report on the results of its nationwide inspection of 48 manufacturers and 18 users of SRFs.
SRFs are made from nonhazardous waste from businesses that can be burned as fuel, Minister of Environment Peng Chi-ming (彭啟明) said, adding that quality SRFs can only be produced through purification and homogenization.
The ministry would propose new SRF regulations by the end of the year to establish a third-party certification system, install closed-circuit television systems to monitor the areas where materials are collected and impose stricter standards on the emission of harmful substances such as dioxins, Resource Circulation Administration Director-General Lai Ying-ying (賴瑩瑩) said.
Photo: Wu Po-hsuan, Taipei Times
Under the stricter regulations, companies in the industry would have to make more effort and invest more to improve their products and processes, Peng said, adding that “this is not to increase the companies’ costs, but to increase Taiwan’s assets.”
SRF production volume has increased from 50,000 tonnes in 2019 to 290,000 tonnes last year, and most manufacturers were small and medium-sized businesses, Lai said, citing the report.
Although one manufacturer did not install an essential device for purification and homogenization of SRF, all manufacturers’ SRF products met quality standards, she said, adding that SRF combustion efficiency could be improved.
Eighteen manufacturers did not report where their products were sold, although it was required by law, and one manufacturer has never reported the destinations of its products, she said.
While 29 manufacturers sold SRF products directly to users in accordance with regulations, 11 did not and eight had yet to sell their products, she added.
Most SRF users were factories of large companies in the paper, cement and power supply industries, which mainly used coal, Lai said.
Although SRF-users’ sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxide emissions met regulations, 25 percent of the users fell short of the emission standards for dioxins, she said.
Overall, 52 to 70 percent of SRF manufacturers met standards and 30 to 48 percent needed improvements, while more than 90 percent of SRF users met standards and 6 percent should improve, she said.
Meanwhile, 14 SRF producers said they would leave the market after the inspection, while two manufacturers said they would stop production as SRF was not their main product, Lai said.
Two users said they would use other fuels instead of SRFs, she said.
Ten manufacturers said they would transition from the market as their waste had simple properties and as they had matured their waste reuse technology, she said.
About 6.5 million tonnes of waste is sent to incinerators every year, 1.8 million tonnes of which is business waste, Deputy Minister of Environment Shen Chih-hsiu (沈志修) said.
If business waste could be recycled using SRF production technology, incinerator capacity could be freed for burning noncommercial waste, which would reduce “waste mountains” in Taiwan, he said.
Taipei and New Taipei City government officials are aiming to have the first phase of the Wanhua-Jungho-Shulin Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line completed and opened by 2027, following the arrival of the first train set yesterday. The 22km-long Light Green Line would connect four densely populated districts in Taipei and New Taipei City: Wanhua (萬華), Jhonghe (中和), Tucheng (土城) and Shulin (樹林). The first phase of the project would connect Wanhua and Jhonghe districts, with Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Chukuang (莒光) being the terminal stations. The two municipalities jointly hosted a ceremony for the first train to be used
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday said it is fully aware of the situation following reports that the son of ousted Chinese politician Bo Xilai (薄熙來) has arrived in Taiwan and is to marry a Taiwanese. Local media reported that Bo Guagua (薄瓜瓜), son of the former member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is to marry the granddaughter of Luodong Poh-Ai Hospital founder Hsu Wen-cheng (許文政). The pair met when studying abroad and arranged to get married this year, with the wedding breakfast to be held at The One holiday resort in Hsinchu
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon this morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan between Friday and Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The storm, which as of 8am was still 1,100km southeast of southern Taiwan, is currently expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, the CWA said. Because of its rapid speed — 28kph as of 8am — a sea warning for the storm could be issued tonight, rather than tomorrow, as previously forecast, the CWA said. In terms of its impact, Usagi is to bring scattered or
An orange gas cloud that leaked from a waste management plant yesterday morning in Taoyuan’s Guanyin District (觀音) was likely caused by acidic waste, authorities said, adding that it posed no immediate harm. The leak occurred at a plant in the district’s Environmental Science and Technology Park at about 7am, the Taoyuan Fire Department said. Firefighters discovered a cloud of unidentified orange gas leaking from a waste tank when they arrived on the site, it said, adding that they put on Level A chemical protection before entering the building. After finding there was no continuous leak, the department worked with the city’s Department
RSS