《TAIPEI TIMES》 EPA warns over new illegal waste dumping method

RENTING FARMLAND: Less-populated areas and farms in the center and south of the nation have become ‘hot spots’ for illegal dumping activities

By Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporter

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Some waste disposal firms are offering large sums of money to rent warehouses and land to illegally dump industrial waste, the Environmental Protection Administration （EPA） said yesterday, urging landowners to stay vigilant against the fraudulent practice.

The methods used by waste disposal firms to illegally dump industrial waste have evolved over time from burying pollutants in sandstone quarries or farmland to convincing landowners to rent them space by paying months of rent in advance, the Bureau of Environmental Inspection’s Central Branch Chief Wu Chiuan-fang （吳權芳） told a news conference in Taipei.

Some waste disposal firms have told landowners that they would use the space to store raw materials for industrial production, but dumped unprocessed pollutants or furnace slag, causing serious soil, crop and groundwater pollution, he said.

Less-populated areas or farmland in central and southern Taiwan have been found to be “hot spots” for such illegal dumping activities, branch Commander Lee Chin-fu （李金福） said, but declined to name the places.

Before renting out space, landowners should make sure their property would not be used for criminal activity and should regularly check the premises, Lee said.

If waste producers and landowners are found to have colluded with waste disposal firms to illegal dispose of waste, they could be charged under Article 46 of the Waste Disposal Act （廢棄物清理法）, which stipulates a jail term of one to five years or a fine of up to NT$15 million （US$477,479）, Lee said.

Landowners may also be asked to restore polluted land if they are found to be involved in the crime, he said.

Citing a case discovered last month, Lee said two waste disposal companies were found to have dumped more than 5,500 tonnes of sludge produced by a food processing firm on farmland across Changhua County’s Fangyuan （芳苑）, Bitou （埤頭） and Sijhou （溪洲） townships.

As the suspects had GPS tracking devices on their vehicles, the devices showed that they made stops at the entrances of waste processing plants, but did not acutally enter the plants and proceeded to dump the waste on farmland, he said.

The landowner was deceived, as a broker working for the suspects said that they were renting the farmland to produce potting soil, he said.

After collecting information with the help of aerial drones and satellite images for four months, the bureau, police and prosecutors caught the suspects as they were dumping sludge, Lee said, warning business owners not to take chances with illegal dumping.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES