TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Cabinet on Thursday expressed opposition to a proposed incinerator in Mingjian Township, Nantou County, urging local authorities to safeguard Taiwan’s “world-renowned tea industry.”

Nantou County government has proposed building an incinerator in Mingjian with a daily capacity of 500 tonnes to address waste disposal needs, per Newtalk. The plan has drawn strong opposition from residents, with tea farmers warning it could harm the area’s tea production.

Cabinet Spokesperson Michelle Lee (李慧芝) said the project is still undergoing environmental impact assessment and called on authorities to seek alternative waste solutions, per KNews. She said Mingjian is Taiwan’s largest tea-producing area and warned against sacrificing farmers’ interests.

Ministry of Agriculture official Huang Hsin-ta (黃新達) added that the township produces about 4,700 tonnes of tea annually and is potentially a habitat for the endangered leopard cat.

President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) earlier called on Nantou to adopt a more comprehensive approach to waste management, per UDN. Nantou County Magistrate Hsu Shu-hua (許淑華) responded that most residents support building an incinerator as soon as possible, noting Nantou is the only county in Taiwan without one, per UDN.

Hsu has previously cited an incinerator in Muzha District, Taipei, as an example of coexistence with nearby tea-growing areas, per CTS. Opponents argue the distance between that facility and tea farms exceeds 14 kilometers, compared with about 2.5 kilometers in Mingjian.

Critics have also questioned the plant’s scale, saying its planned capacity exceeds Nantou’s needs by about 16,000 tonnes. The New Power Party has raised concerns that the facility could be used to process waste from outside the county.

Meanwhile, Chen Chiao-hua (陳椒華), head of the Taiwan Water Resource Conservation Union, warned that potential groundwater contamination could affect the Zhuoshui River system, posing risks to drinking water in Nantou and agricultural areas in Changhua County and Yunlin County, per Agrijourney News.