Director Ing-Ing Lai of the EPA Department of Waste Management and Resource Recycling Office led a delegation to attend the 2022 International Solid Waste Association (ISWA) World Congress in Singapore from 21 to 23 September and gave a talk on Taiwan’s policies and development of resource recycling. The aim was to facilitate Taiwan’s participation in international exchanges and collaboration on resource recycling issues. The 30-plus-member delegation included those from 12 research institutes and enterprises in the waste recycling and reuse industries in Taiwan.

Aligning with the world, Taiwan aims to complete transformation toward net-zero emissions by 2050, and one of the key strategies is resource recycling and zero waste. In 2021, the recycling rates for general wastes and industrial wastes in Taiwan were 62.5% and 85.4%, respectively. Such achievements make up the foundation on which resource recycling is promoted, with sustainable consumption and production, greater efficiency of resource use, and increase of value in waste disposal as the aim. The strategies planned and adopted include green design and at-source reduction, energy and resource reutilization, smooth recycling networks, and innovative technologies and systems. Having been invited to this year’s ISWA World Congress, the delegation went on to share Taiwan’s various experiences and further connected with other nations by delivering feature speeches and setting up Taiwan Pavilion, which showcased Taiwan’s experiences.

With the theme of “Don’t Waste Our Future,” the 2022 ISWA World Congress invited solid waste experts from around the world to discuss waste recycling, human health, environmental security, etc. Foreign ideas and measures on issues relating to sustainable development and social and economic impacts can serve as important references for Taiwan as it formulates policies. Setting its eyes on net-zero emission, the EPA will actively push for resource recycling and strive to build a zero-waste generation with sustainable resource utilization.

During the two-day event, delegation members participated in meetings and learned about other nations’ measures, achievements, and future plans for resource recycling. Moreover, a Taiwan Pavilion was set up by the delegation to showcase the Taiwan government’s resource recycling policies and results. Also on display were innovative environmental technologies utilized by Taiwan’s enterprises, including plastic recycling, reuse, and circulation, production and application of solid renewable fuels (SRF), disposal of hazardous wastes, recycling of heavy metals, incineration, and mechanical electrical maintenance. Besides technological exchanges with enterprises and experts from other countries to keep up with the latest global technological trends, delegation members were able to explore possibilities for future collaboration and discover new business opportunities in resource circulation.

Excerpt from Major Environmental Policies, October 2022