This Act is formulated for the effective clearance and disposal of waste, improvement of environmental sanitation and maintenance of public health. The regulations of other laws shall apply to those matters not regulated by this Act.

For the purpose of this Act, “waste” means any movable solid or liquid substance or object:
I.Which is discarded;
II.Whose original purpose is weakened, given up, no longer existing, or unclear;
III.Which is resulted from construction, manufacturing, processing, repairing, selling, or other activities, and is not deliberately created;
IV.Which is resulted from production process, with no feasible technology existing, and is of no economic or market value;
V.Which is announced as “waste” by central competent authority.
The waste referred to in the preceding paragraph is divided into “general waste” and “industrial waste.”
I.General waste refers to waste that is not industrial waste.
II.Industrial waste refers to waste that is produced from industry activities (but excluding waste generated by the employees themselves), including “hazardous industrial waste” and “general industrial waste.”
A.Hazardous industrial waste: waste produced by industry that is toxic or dangerous with the concentration or volume sufficient to influence human health or pollute the environment.
B.General industrial waste: waste produced by industry that is not hazardous industrial waste.
The central competent authority in consultation with the central industry competent authority shall enact determination standards for the hazardous industrial waste referred to in the foregoing paragraph.
The disposal of ionizing radioactive waste shall be performed in accordance with the relevant atomic energy regulations.
The industry referred to in Paragraph 2 means agricultural, industrial and mining plants and sites, construction enterprises, medical organizations, public and private waste clearance and disposal organizations, joint industrial waste clearance and disposal organizations, laboratories of schools or agency groups and other enterprises designated by the central competent authority.

Any product coming from industry activities shall be determined as waste when it is under any of the following circumstances:
I.The product is determined as of no economic or market value by the central competent authority, and is intended to be disposed of illegally or harmful to the environment and human health.
II.The product is not lawfully stored or used, and is intended to be disposed of illegally or causing pollution.
III.The reuse product is not used in accordance with this Act, and is intended to be disposed of illegally or causing pollution.

“Designated clearance area” as referred to in this Act means a clearance area officially announced and designated by the enforcement authority based on environmental sanitation needs.

“Competent authority” as referred to in this Act means the Environmental Protection Administration, Executive Yuan, at the central government level, the municipal government in special municipalities and the county or city government in counties or cities.

“Enforcement authority” as referred to in this Act means the environmental protection bureau of a special municipality government, the environmental protection bureau of a county or city government and the public office of a rural township, urban township or city.
The enforcement authority shall establish dedicated units for the performance of recycling, clearance, disposal and waste investigation work for general waste.
The enforcement authority shall be responsible for the planning of land to be used for the recycling, clearance and disposal of general waste, and shall coordinate with and grant preference to the relevant agencies for the acquisition of the land.
The recycling, clearance and disposal of general waste shall be performed by the environmental protection bureau of the special municipality government in special municipalities and by the environmental protection bureau of the provincial city in provincial cities. In counties, the recycling and clearance of general waste shall be performed by the public office of a rural township, urban township or city and the disposal of general waste shall be performed by the environmental protection bureau of the county; when necessary, the county may commission the public office of a rural township, urban township or city to perform disposal work.
The environmental protection bureaus of counties shall complete the adjustment of general waste work pursuant to the foregoing regulations prior to July 14, 2004 and shall be in centralized management of said work.
The central competent authority shall determine the general waste recycling items in Paragraph 2. However, special municipality, county and city competent authorities may add other general waste recycling items based on special requirements within their jurisdiction areas, and the added items shall be submitted to the central competent authority for future reference.

When the competent authority or industry competent authority plans the establishment of waste disposal facilities pursuant to the regulations of this Act, for those circumstances in which the land to be used involves modifications to urban planning, the competent authority or industry competent authority shall coordinate with the urban planning competent authority and perform the modifications pursuant to Article 27 of the Urban Planning Law; for those circumstances in which the land involves modifications to the use of non-urban land, modifications and rezoning shall be carried out in accordance with the law after approval of the acquisition of the land through appropriation or allocation. Land for which rezoning as a waste disposal zone has been completed and that is public land may be allocated, or leased or sold to the founder, and shall not be subject to the restrictions of Article 25 of the Land Act.

For the joint establishment of waste disposal sites and performance of waste clearance and disposal work, special municipality, county or city competent authorities may draft establishment management regulations, and, after receiving central competent authority approval, may establish a regional joint clearance and disposal unit.

When existing waste storage, recycling, clearance or disposal facilities are caused to have insufficient power due to natural disaster, major accident or other urgent matters and there is concern of polluting the environment or influencing human health, the central competent authority shall cooperate with the central industry competent authority and relevant agencies and, after receiving Executive Yuan approval, may designate emergency waste disposal methods, facilities, sites and deadlines and shall not be subject to Article 28, Article 31, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 1, Article 36, Article 39, Article 41 of this Act, Article 13 of the Water Pollution Control Act, Article 24 of the Air Pollution Control Act, Article 16 of the Environmental Impact Assessment Act, Article 15 of the Company Act, Article 8 of the Business Registration Act or restrictions related to land use controls of the Urban Planning Law, Regional Plan Act or Statute for Upgrading Industries.

The competent authority may, on its own or through a commissioned enforcement authority, dispatch personnel bearing identification documents to enter a public or private premises or intercept waste or surplus earth and gravel clearance equipment to perform inspection or sampling of waste storage, clearance, disposal or reuse circumstances and order the provision of relevant information; waste or surplus earth and gravel clearance equipment shall carry in the vehicle verification documents recording the production source and disposal site of the waste or surplus earth and gravel to be provided for inspection.
The competent authority or the commissioned enforcement authority, when performing an administrative inspection pursuant to the foregoing paragraph and there is one of the following circumstances, may detain the clearance equipment or disposal facilities or equipment and may order the owner or user of the clearance equipment or disposal facilities or equipment at issue to perform clearance or disposal within a limited time period. When necessary, the property or real estate of the owner may be used or have its use restricted or the necessary tap water, electricity or other power source of the place of business may cut off as punishment.
I.There is concern of serious pollution from the waste, surplus earth and gravel, clearance equipment or disposal facilities or equipment of the public or private premises.
II.There is concern of serious pollution from the waste or surplus earth and gravel carried by clearance equipment.
The central competent authority shall determine relevant regulations for the procedures for the detention of clearance equipment or disposal facilities or equipment in the foregoing paragraph.

The clearance equipment or disposal facilities or equipment detained pursuant to Paragraph 2 of the foregoing article shall be returned if there is already no concern of serious pollution from the waste or surplus earth and gravel its has stored, cleared, disposed of or reused, or after the owner or user of the clearance equipment or disposal facilities or equipment at issue properly performs clearance or disposal of the waste or surplus earth and gravel and pays such related fees as fees for the towing and safekeeping of the clearance equipment or disposal facilities or equipment.
The period for the detention of the clearance equipment or disposal facilities or equipment shall be limited to one year. However, under special circumstances, this period may be extended once after receiving higher competent authority approval.
The special municipality, county or city competent authority shall determine fee collection methods and standards for such related fees as fees for the towing and safekeeping of the clearance equipment or disposal facilities or equipment in the first paragraph.