TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Tainan City Government’s Agriculture Bureau reported Wednesday it had discovered a pig farm in Baihe District that broke the nationwide ban on using food waste as feed.
The bureau said Baihe farm, which raises 168 pigs, had 10 barrels of food waste on-site and food waste visible in troughs, per CNA. Officials suspended all pig transport from the farm and sent the waste to an incinerator.
The farm was fined NT$1.2 million (US$38,500), and its premises, vehicles, and empty barrels underwent disinfection. Initial testing of five randomly selected pigs showed no presence of the African swine fever virus.
KMT Tainan City Councilor Lin Yen-chu (林燕祝) alleged the Baihe pig farm did not have a legal permit and claimed the city government only took action after she became involved, per Knews. She also said that among the city’s 541 pig farms, about 70 lack the required permits.
The bureau said the farm was under scrutiny but inspections on Nov. 10 and 13 did not uncover violations. The third inspection, on Nov. 17, did.
Taiwan continues to struggle with food waste disposal as frustration among pig farmers regarding the government’s food waste–as-feed policy intensifies. National Taiwan University professor Su Jung-jeng (蘇忠楨) said current alternatives — composting, biofuel production, or incineration — are not capable of handling Taiwan’s daily food waste output, per News&Market.
Su said composting requires significant time and space, and Taiwan’s demand for organic fertilizer is less than half of its food waste volume. Producing biofuels, he added, creates large amounts of wastewater and sludge.
Household waste accounts for about 65% of Taiwan’s food waste, but Su said its high water content reduces incinerator efficiency and could damage facilities.
Commenting on the use of black soldier flies to process food waste, Su noted the law only permits flies to process vegetable-based waste. He emphasized that past African swine fever outbreaks were linked to insufficient heat treatment of food waste and said pig farms have played an important role in reducing waste.
Taoyuan Pig Farmers’ Association Chair Lin Cheng-te (林承德) criticized the central government for increasing surveillance requirements without finalizing policy, per CTWant. He said farmers are willing to install GPS devices on vehicles despite not understanding the need but urged the government to move forward rather than delay.
Lin called for centralized food waste processing centers in municipalities that still allow food waste feed, arguing such facilities would help manage waste while ensuring safety. He said processing centers should avoid handling household waste because of its higher risk.
Lin also criticized the central government for failing to update its food waste heat-treatment reporting system for years while expecting farmers to install surveillance systems within weeks, per News&Market.
Meanwhile, pig farmers’ associations in New Taipei and Taoyuan have launched a non-cooperation campaign against a government program encouraging farmers to bring food waste to incinerators. Both groups said the action is intended to pressure the central government to finalize its feed policy.
New Taipei Pig Farmers’ Association Chair Huang Ching-wen (黃靖文) said farmers have been paying at least NT$900 out of pocket to transport food waste since subsidies expired on Nov. 6. He said it takes four to five hours to collect food waste and a similar amount of time to deliver it to incinerators.
Huang added that incinerators sometimes reject loads of food waste, leaving farmers with nowhere to store or dispose of the rejected waste because they are prohibited from bringing it back to their farms.
