Newsletter
REGULATIONS ON RECYCLING BY MANUFACTURERS AND IMPORTERS
The Waste Disposal Law provides that if, after consumption or use, articles or their packaging or containers are likely to cause serious envi-ronmental pollution and (1) are not easy to re-move or dispose of; (2) contain substances that do not readily decompose over time; (3) contain toxic substances; and (4) have a recycling value, then businesses that manufacture or import such articles or their packaging, containers or raw materials are responsible for their collection, removal and disposal, and businesses that sell them are responsible for their collection and removal.
Under the Regulations Governing Businesses Required to Recover Wastes, businesses with a responsibility to collect, remove and dispose of such wastes must register with the central regu-latory authority (i.e. the Environmental Protec-tion Administration) within two months after first beginning to manufacture or import the relevant items. Any subsequent change to the registered details must be reported within 60 days.
After the date announced by the EPA for the commencement of responsibility for collection, removal and disposal of such wastes, businesses must pay collection, removal and disposal fees through a designated financial institution, at the rate set by the EPA, by the 30th of each odd-numbered month, according to the quantity of designated items sold or imported by them during the previous two months. If the fees payable by a business in one year total less than NT$50,000, the business may apply to the EPA by 28 February of the following year, submitting the relevant evidence, for permission to report and pay the fees once yearly.
If designated items manufactured or imported by a business are not discarded or used in the ROC, or do not create waste after use, the business may apply to the EPA, submitting evidentiary docu-ments, for the relevant quantity to be deducted from its sale or import quantity.