TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Environmental groups protested outside Taichung City Hall on Thursday, urging authorities to halt planned construction of a waste disposal project at the Port of Taichung.
Taichung City Councilor Wu Pei-yun (吳佩芸) said that while Taiwan must address the disposal of excavated earth from construction projects, dumping it into the ocean and risking damage to the habitat of critically endangered Taiwanese white dolphins is not an appropriate solution, per CNA. She also noted that the site would receive construction waste not only from Taichung but also from other municipalities in central Taiwan.
Environmental groups argued that no screening mechanism exists to remove paint fragments, asbestos and other potentially hazardous materials often found in construction waste, per UDN. With fewer than 50 Taiwanese white dolphins believed to remain in the wild, they said authorities should not permit disposal activities in the area without first conducting an environmental impact assessment.
At a separate news conference on Tuesday, TPP Legislator Chen Chao-tzu (陳昭姿) criticized the government's classification of what she described as open sea as part of the harbor area, per Liberty Times. She argued that the transport ministry had arbitrarily designated waters between the port's northern outer breakwater and inner seawall as an enclosed harbor area.
Chen said that if the ministry's interpretation was accepted, authorities could designate hundreds of hectares of coastal waters near ports without requiring environmental impact assessments. Taiwan Watch Institute Secretary-General Hsieh He-lin (謝和霖) noted that the existing disposal area at the harbor already lacks adequate protection from rough seas, forcing operations to halt whenever weather conditions deteriorate.
Discussing alternatives, Changhua Environmental Protection Union member Lin Cheng-han (林政翰) said Taiwan should follow Japan's example by sorting demolition waste into different categories for reuse. He argued that dumping construction waste into the sea effectively treats the ocean as a landfill.
The Port of Taichung responded Tuesday that the project complies with regulations governing port operations, per PTS. Taichung City Government said Thursday that decisions on environmental impact assessments fall under the authority of the environment ministry and that it respects the conclusions of professional reviews, per EDN.
