11 indicted for unlicensed collection, processing of waste

Taoyuan, April 14 (CNA) Eleven individuals have been indicted in Taoyuan for allegedly collecting, storing and processing waste without a license to support an operation that was illegally exporting the waste, local prosecutors said Monday.

The Northern Center of Environmental Management under the Ministry of Environment's (MoENV) Environmental Management Administration tipped off the Taoyuan District Prosecutors Office to the illegal operation, believed to have begun in March 2023, prosecutors said in a statement.

During searches on Feb. 7, 2025, investigative authorities uncovered around 5,549 metric tons of plastic waste in storage across three plants in Xinwu and Zhongli districts, MoENV officials said at a press conference at one of the factories in Xinwu on Monday.

The officials and investigators also learned during the searches that 5,832 metric tons of the alleged waste had been shipped overseas, while NT$394.79 million (US$12.17 million) was confiscated as suspected illegal gains, the prosecutors office said.

Six companies found to have been involved in the unlicensed waste operations will be fined up to NT$10 million each by the Taoyuan City Department of Environmental Protection, said Deputy Environment Minister Shen Chih-hsiu (沈志修) at Monday's press conference.

The 11 individuals were recently indicted for operating landfills and storing, processing and disposing waste without a license, offenses that carry a prison sentence of up to five years and a fine of NT$15 million, Shen said.

According to Deputy Justice Minister Hsu Hsi-hsiang (徐錫祥), the MoENV, prosecutors and the police have been part of an alliance for cooperation on tackling violations of environmental protection laws in 2011.

Over the past 14 years, the alliance has used technology and a division of specializations to take on environmental crimes, and prosecutors offices have not only seized illegal gains but also looked at how well illegal waste sites were restored to decide whether to push for suspended sentences, Hsu said.