The international community is much more concern with the strict control of hazardous and other wastes by cross border transfer. In accordance with existing regulation clause no.38 in the “Waste Disposal Act”, all wastes imported, export and transit, should meet international conventions requirement on waste management, also make the control of waste import regulations. EPA continues to propose to wastes recipient countries to know the transnational transfer and treatment criteria for 7 years, ie, since 2002. The purpose of this year’s project is to visit and investigate how Taiwan’s exported wastes are treated in the treatment plants of foreign countries (i.e., United States and China). Ten foreign plants were visited this year. They are World Resource Company, Sabin Metal Corporation Scottsville, Xstrata Recycling(Noranda Sampling,Inc), Lian-Yun-Gang Depot Metal Industrial Co., Zeng-Cheng-Shi Lian-Da hardware Co., Qing-Yuan Jin-Yun recycling Co., Zhan-Jiang Tin-Heng non-ferrous metals Co., Qing-Hai Yun-Xing Industrial Co., Tian-Jin Fu-Sheng Matal Co., Shen-Yang Hua-Rui. vanadium industry Co.. During each visit, the waste treatment and pollution prevention capabilities as well as the operation records of each visited plant are examined and evaluated. Besides the treatment plant, its local environmental authority was also visited to confirm the performance of each plant.
The main results of this year’s project are listed as follows:
1. Ten waste treatment facilities in United States and China were visited to investigate their waste treatment and pollution prevention capabilities as well as the past operation records, and to bring up the key point of the following investigations and managements.
2. Complete of the analysis of current waste exporting trend in Taiwan by knowing the domestic waste exporting organizations and their exporting situation.
3. Completion of the analysis of waste management policy performed by foreign environmental authorities. The comparison between Taiwan and foreign country’s waste management law, suggested for the revision of Taiwan’s waste importation and exportation.
4. Completion of the assessment of Taiwan exporting waste’s treatment and management situation. This study also proposes a law revision to enable Taiwan waste management law to comply with international convention.
5. After seven years carry out of this project, It is found that the central environmental agency primarily responsible for and legal policy, due to take into consideration the consistency of its implementation level, nearly no changes of policy, local environmental agencies primarily responsible for supervision, inspection and control, the best knowing of the local facilities, however, the vast of the European, the United States and the China, about local environmental agencies to control wastes input processes and institutions of the strategies adopted by counseling inspectors varies widely, United States in survey personnel training, health checks, document control and tracking control are good, enough for other environmental agencies learn. China in recent years, computer-based document management has been progress, the international certification (eg ISO9001, ISO14001) and environmental monitoring, education and training, health examination, environmental protection and waste facility operators and related access to data records and operational records and other documents on file with the control is improvement, in the future, this project could focus on treatment plants for personnel training, health checks, document control and tracking control, treatment facilities pollution control and environmental monitoring of the situation.
6. To Continuously understand the management strategy of hazardous waste of recipient countries, and to enhance, trace and examine the exportation of hazardous waste, to ensure they are properly treated under current laws.
