- Department:Comprehensive Planning Division
To address compound disasters caused by extreme climate events, the Ministry of Environment, under the guidance of the Executive Yuan’s Office of Disaster Management, held the “Symposium on Fire Prevention and Emergency Response for Waste Storage Sites under Extreme Climate” on March 11, 2026, in collaboration with the National Fire Agency, Ministry of the Interior. During the symposium, the “Guidelines for Disaster Waste Management” were officially released. The event focused on three key topics: “risk prevention,” “firefighting operations,” and “environmental management.” Frontline personnel from local environmental protection and firefighting agencies, central government representatives, and academic experts were invited to exchange experiences. Through practical case studies, such as the fire at the temporary waste site in Wushulin, Tainan, discussions covered risk identification, management guidelines, air pollution monitoring, and on-site environmental detection strategies to enhance prevention and response capabilities for fires at waste storage and landfill sites.
Executive Yuan Minister without Portfolio Chi Lien-cheng, in his remarks, reflected on last year’s Hualien Matai’an Creek barrier lake incident, during which more than 500,000 volunteer “shovel heroes” and military personnel participated in disaster relief efforts. He emphasized that improperly handled large volumes of disaster-generated waste can lead to severe environmental pollution, and that dredged sediment must also be properly managed to prevent secondary disasters. He commended the Ministry’s guidelines for promoting source management, ensuring efficient rescue operations and systematic waste handling, thereby minimizing harm to the public. He further noted that, in response to compound disasters and environmental changes, the Executive Yuan is working to amend the Disaster Prevention and Protection Act, aiming to establish a unified disaster management system from central to local levels, transitioning from task-based structures to a more “professional, specialized, and standardized” approach. The Executive Yuan will continue to fully support the Ministry’s professional management of post-disaster waste.
Minister of Environment Peng Chi-ming stated that, in the face of climate change, managing the massive amounts of waste generated immediately after disasters has become a core issue in national disaster prevention. Without proper risk identification and classification, disaster waste can pose significant environmental threats. Therefore, management strategies must shift from traditional “end-of-pipe disposal” to “source prevention,” thereby establishing a forward-looking “resilient management” system.
Regarding firefighting practices, Director-General Hsiao Huan-chang of the National Fire Agency highlighted the challenges for frontline rescuers. He noted that fires at waste storage sites often involve deep-seated combustion, where accumulated heat and difficulty in directing water to the core significantly increase the difficulty of extinguishment. In response, firefighting units adopt strategies such as “segmentation and isolation, localized excavation, and point-by-point extinguishing,” utilizing mobile water cannons, firefighting robots, and aerial drone surveillance, combined with heavy machinery excavation and waterline protection. Simultaneously, inter-agency coordination with relevant units is continuously strengthened to effectively reduce temperatures and prevent re-ignition.
The Ministry further noted that the valuable practical experiences and recommendations gathered from this cross-sector exchange will serve as the basis for developing future “Guidelines for Fire Prevention and Rescue at Waste Landfills and Temporary Storage Sites.” These will be integrated with the “Guidelines for Disaster Waste Management” released today, incorporating firefighting components to form a comprehensive set of technical guidelines for prevention and emergency response. These guidelines will provide local governments with a reference for daily management, inspections, training, and rescue operations, minimizing the impact on both the public and the environment.
Under the guidance of the Executive Yuan, the Ministry will continue to enhance disaster prevention mechanisms through close inter-agency collaboration, comprehensively strengthening Taiwan’s resilience in the face of extreme climate challenges, and safeguarding public health and environmental safety.
