TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taichung’s Environmental Protection Bureau has installed a new dewatering machine that squeezes out up to 40% of water from food waste, easing the burden on the city’s incinerators.

The city government said Friday the move followed a central government ban on feeding food waste to pigs, which forced cities to find other ways to handle large volumes of scraps. As an emergency measure, Taichung began sending food waste to its three incinerators.

The bureau said Taichung processes about 280 metric tonnes of food waste each day, but high moisture levels and low heat value can slow burning and strain equipment. To fix the problem, the city installed a dewatering machine at the Wenshan Incinerator and completed trial runs in mid-December 2025.

CNA reported the dewatering machine tips bins to feed waste, then workers remove metal and hard objects by hand, after which the machine breaks up and squeezes the waste to drain out water. It can process up to eight metric tonnes of cooked food waste per hour, with a daily capacity of about 60 tonnes.

After treatment, the drier waste burns more easily, reduces fuel demand at furnaces, and lowers the risk of water buildup and slipping hazards in storage pits.

The bureau urged residents to buy and cook only what they need to cut food waste. It also encouraged composting or recycling vegetable scraps and fruit trimmings, so less waste is burned, per Liberty Times.