TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) has landed in Singapore for a three-day trip seeking to learn from the nation’s experience in recycling and waste management.
Lu visited the TuasOne waste-to-energy (WTE) plant, which began operation at the end of 2021, Liberty Times reported. The plant uses the latest technology to process up to 3,600 tons of garbage per day and produces 120 MW of electricity.
It has the ability to meet the electricity demand of approximately 240,000 4-room public housing units. It is expected to provide at least 25 years of waste incineration services.
It also occupies only 4.8 hectares, the most land efficient WTE plant in Singapore.
Considering that Taichung’s incinerator has been in operation for 20 to 30 years and needs to be replaced as soon as possible, Lu said she intended to learn from Singapore's experience in recycling waste to produce efficient electricity. She said it could be considered as one of the future directions for energy development in Taiwan.
Lu pointed out that Singapore's natural conditions are similar to those of Taiwan, with limited land and dense population, leading to the generation of a lot of waste. Under limited landfill capacity, more efficient ways must be pursued, such as recycling waste or incinerating waste to generate electricity.
