Incineration Incineration will become the most important way to treat the solid waste in Taiwan area. Three public incinerators now operate in Taiwan, and 21 others are in various stages of planning or construction around the island. The first incinerator in Taiwan, the Neihu Refuse Incineration Plant was completed in the Taipei suburb of Neihu in 1992 and now treats 900 metric tons of waste per day. When all 24 incinerators are up and running, probably in 1998, they will treat up to 22,050 metric tons of municipal solid waste each day. Factoring in annual increases in the volume of solid waste produced, the incinerators are expected to process about three-fourth of the ROC's municipal garbage.
Incineration comes at a price.
A bigger problem than funding may be protests from local residents. The government has attempted to sweeten incinerator projects by adding community improvement facilities to nearly all the design plans. Twenty thousand chemical substances are used regularly in the Taiwan Area. 6,000 of which are highly toxic. The EPA has established a Toxic Chemicals Databank, which provides information on toxic substances used in the Taiwan Area and promotes disaster prevention and response.