On June 9th, 2023, the Taoyuan City Department of Environmental Protection received a total of nine accolades at the “Outstanding Achievements in Environmental Protection Assessment for 2022 Awards Ceremony” organized by the Environmental Protection Administration of Executive Yuan. The awards received include: “Outstanding Performance in Environmental Impact Assessment and Environmental Education Assessment,” “Excellence in Air Quality Maintenance and Noise Control Assessment,” “Outstanding Performance in Water Quality Protection and Soil Remediation Assessment,” “Outstanding Performance in Resource Circulation Assessment,” “Outstanding Performance in Climate Change Adaptation Assessment,” “Outstanding Performance in Sustainable Green Living Assessment,” “Excellence in Environmental Measurement and Integrated Services Assessment,” “Excellence in Waste Management and Environmental Governance Assessment,” and “Overall Outstanding Performance in Environmental Protection Assessment.” Deputy Commissioner Yen attended the ceremony on behalf of the Department to receive the awards.
Director Shih-Wei Chen expressed that as a city with continuous population growth and numerous industrial areas, Taoyuan City’s environmental burden has been increasingly heavy. Therefore, in various environmental policy measures, greater efforts must be made. He thanked all colleagues in the Department for their concerted efforts in creating such excellent assessment results.
In terms of air pollution prevention, Taoyuan has established an environmentally friendly electric scooter charging and swapping infrastructure, which is the most widely adopted among the six municipalities. It has also pioneered the implementation of an online system for fixed source permits, fully digitized construction control, and has taken the lead nationwide in setting up dedicated incinerators for paper money in funeral parks. As a result, despite the continuous growth in population, vehicles, and industrial output, Taoyuan has achieved the highest ratio of good air quality days among the six municipalities (70.6%).
In terms of water pollution control, Taoyuan has pursued a vision of “living by the water, residing in Taoyuan” and “a clean water environment, safeguarding our homeland.” It has advanced through the implementation of technological enforcement, partnership initiatives with CSR enterprises, reduction of industrial wastewater volume through voluntary measures and stricter regulations, negotiations in seven major industrial zones, proactive efforts to improve stagnant sites, management of heavy metals in agricultural land, and the promotion of water environmental education and development, among other notable achievements. The heavy metal levels in the controlled areas (Xinjie Puxin River and Nankan River) have gradually decreased, demonstrating the effectiveness of the control measures. Ongoing efforts have been made to actively implement appropriate measures for improving and preventing agricultural land pollution, thereby reducing the impact of heavy metal accumulation on agricultural land.
Furthermore, Taoyuan has actively provided guidance to sites with potential for environmental education, achieving recognition from the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) of the Executive Yuan for 31 certified environmental education locations, ranking first nationwide. The city has also supported businesses and organizations selected for the National Environmental Education Awards, including special honors and distinctions organized by the EPA. Additionally, the promotion of eco-friendly night markets has been encouraged, where individuals bring their own eco-friendly cups, bowls, and bags as well as participate in a voucher collection activity, showcasing promotional slogans to expand the reach and effectiveness of the campaign.
In the realm of resource circulation, Taoyuan has actively promoted the prioritized use of incinerating recycled aggregate in public works. The incineration bottom ash generated by the incineration plants is carefully utilized in road pavement or pipeline excavation projects, following the specific characteristics of the materials. Both the handling and direction of these materials are strictly monitored by the Environmental Protection Bureau.
In terms of environmental impact assessment, Taoyuan has pioneered the nationwide establishment of an intelligent factory environment E-system, integrating it with a geographic information platform. This enables effective monitoring of the development status, including the location of regulated environmental assessment cases and various environmentally sensitive areas.