垃圾為什麼會堆成山？【好！我來告訴你】公視我們的島解釋性報導 EP7

Summary

The video discusses Taiwan's growing waste crisis, with an alarming increase in landfill waste reaching 840,000 tons by 2023, a nearly tenfold rise since 2017. Despite having enough incineration capacity to handle more than the nation's waste, inefficiencies in waste management, legal loopholes, and political factors contribute to the problem. The video highlights issues such as the rising 'garbage mountains' and the failure to efficiently burn waste due to outdated incinerators. Solutions are proposed, including focusing on reducing waste at the source, increasing recycling efforts, and encouraging greater responsibility from producers.

Takeaways

• 😀 Taiwan has a significant problem with garbage accumulation, with garbage heaps resembling mountains. By 2023, the total waste had ballooned to 840,000 tons, nearly 10 times the amount in 2017.
• 😀 Despite having the capacity to handle 7.74 million tons of waste annually, Taiwan's incinerators only processed around 6 million tons of waste in 2023, indicating a mismatch between capacity and waste management.
• 😀 The issue of garbage is not just about waste but also involves financial interests, ineffective laws, and local political struggles.
• 😀 There are 48 garbage mountains across Taiwan, with the largest located in Xinfeng, Hsinchu. This landfill once had green fields but is now a massive garbage heap growing year by year.
• 😀 Some of Taiwan's garbage dumps are fire hazards, with methane self-combustion causing fires. These fires pollute the air with toxic plastic fumes and affect the surrounding communities' health.
• 😀 Taiwan has 27 incinerators, but many are old, with 24 of them being over 15 years old. These facilities are no longer as efficient, and their design cannot handle the increasingly high calorific value of the waste.
• 😀 The calorific value of Taiwan's waste has been rising, with 2023's waste averaging 2,600 kcal/kg. This increase means less garbage can be incinerated at a time, reducing incinerator efficiency.
• 😀 A significant portion of the waste incinerated in Taiwan comes from industrial waste rather than household waste, causing an overload on incinerators that were designed for regular household garbage.
• 😀 The pricing system for industrial waste incineration is higher than for household waste, making it more financially attractive for incinerators to process industrial waste, despite it taking up space meant for household waste.
• 😀 Some local governments are reluctant to help other areas manage their waste. For instance, Taipei limited accepting external waste after local politicians opposed it, while Kaohsiung is willing to help under specific conditions.
• 😀 The government's solution to the waste problem involves building more incinerators, but this could lead to increased pollution and local resistance. The focus should shift toward reducing waste at the source and increasing recycling efforts.

Q & A

What is the size of Taiwan's largest 'garbage mountain' and where is it located?

The largest 'garbage mountain' in Taiwan is located at the Xinfeng Landfill in Hsinchu, where at its peak, 220,000 tons of garbage were stored.

How much has the volume of garbage accumulated in Taiwan's open-air waste piles grown since 2017?

The volume of garbage in Taiwan's open-air waste piles has increased nearly tenfold, from 85,000 tons in 2017 to 840,000 tons in 2023.

What is the designed capacity of Taiwan's incinerators and how much waste do they actually handle?

Taiwan's incinerators are designed to handle 7.74 million tons of garbage annually, but in 2023, they only processed about 6 to 6.5 million tons.

Why are Taiwan's incinerators struggling to keep up with the waste?

The main issue is that the calorific value of the garbage has been increasing, meaning that the incinerators can burn less garbage per unit of time, leading to a gap in waste processing.

How has the calorific value of garbage in Taiwan changed since 2021, and why is this significant?

Since 2021, the calorific value of garbage in Taiwan has risen to over 2,600 kcal per kilogram, which means incinerators are burning less garbage because more energy is produced from smaller amounts of waste.

What role do industrial waste and business waste play in Taiwan's incineration process?

Industrial waste and business waste often take up space in the incinerators, displacing household garbage. This practice reduces the overall effectiveness of incinerators designed for domestic waste disposal.

What are the economic factors influencing the disposal of business waste in Taiwan?

The cost of incinerating industrial waste is higher than that for household waste, which incentivizes businesses to dispose of their waste in municipal incinerators, where the cost is lower.

Why is Taipei City reluctant to accept waste from other counties?

Taipei City has a policy restricting the amount of waste it can accept from other regions, limiting it to no more than 3% of the city's own waste. This decision has been driven by local political issues and resource constraints.

What impact do Taiwan’s aging incinerators have on waste management?

Many of Taiwan's incinerators are over 15 years old, requiring costly repairs and maintenance. These aging facilities are less efficient at processing the increasing volume of waste.

What solution has the Environmental Protection Administration proposed to address the growing garbage mountains?

The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) has proposed separating the garbage into two categories: one part will be buried in the remaining space in landfills, while the other will be stored until new incinerators are built.

What are the long-term solutions to Taiwan's waste problem according to the script?

The long-term solutions include reducing waste production at the source, expanding recycling programs, implementing more detailed waste separation, and improving food waste processing facilities to prevent unnecessary waste disposal.