Miaoli County has no resources against dumping / 財政窘迫缺稽查員 苗栗亂倒廢棄物頻傳　　　　　　　　　　

As of July this year, Miaoli County has over 20 cases of illegal trash dumping, a two fold increase when compared to last year, but since Miaoli is currently experiencing budget cuts, it simply does not have enough manpower to handle the problem. The county government now hopes that the Environmental Protection Administration will help. A great pile of trash was dumped near Route 26, a highway to Shihtan Township. In mid-July, someone dumped 20 tons of construction waste here, local residents are furious about this. ==LIU CHANG-TANG, Gongguan Township Office== Maybe the driver was not familiar with the route, he dumped the waste around 2 am or 2:30 am. We notified the local Environmental Protection Bureau to clean up. But what kind of waste is this? We are waiting to find out. In July, in other places like Shihtan Township, 50 tons of construction waste was dumped. The hills near Liyutan were polluted by green mud. Since the beginning of 2016, Miaoli County has had over 20 cases of illegal trash dumping, and 15 of these within three months. Last year there were only 7 cases reported. ==PAN CHIH-MING Miaoli County Government EPB== The fees charged for handling industrial waste are very high, therefore many businesses try to save costs, and illegally dump waste in Miaoli's remote areas or by roadsides. Miaoli Environmental Protection Bureau points out that most illegal dumping comes from New Taipei City and Taoyuan. The reasons are closeness, more mountain areas and fewer surveillance cameras. Miaoli County Government has cut its manpower by one third due to budget insufficiency, and there is no-one to look after illegal dumping. The county government hopes the central Environmental Protection Administration can assist in this matter. TRANSLATED BY：ANTHONY LIN 一過彎道，映入眼簾卻是這一大堆垃圾，相當突兀，苗栗市通往獅潭鄉的苗26線，有「苗栗後花園」的美譽，但七月中旬被人傾倒了約20公噸的建築廢棄物，當地民眾和公所都相當氣憤。 ==苗栗縣公館鄉主秘 劉昌塘== 可能路不熟就隨便倒 差不多半夜兩點多 兩點半的時候偷倒的 我們有通知環保局請他來處理 因為它那個到底是什麼廢棄物 要他們認定 七月份除了公館鄉，獅潭鄉台三線的一處空地，同樣遭人棄置了將近50公噸的建築廢棄物，甚至連鯉魚潭水庫旁的山坡地，也被傾倒不明的綠色汙泥；2016年到現在為止，苗栗縣違法傾倒廢棄物的案件已經有20件，而且單單從五月至今，短短三個月就發生15件，相較去年一整年只有七件，超過一倍之多。 ==苗栗縣環保局秘書 潘志明== 事業廢棄物在合法的廠商裡面 它的(處理)費用非常的高 因此很多的不法業者 他為了節省成本 鋌而走險 在我們苗栗的偏遠的地區 道路兩旁 或者是深山等等 去做一個棄置 苗栗縣環保局表示，目前大部分違法棄置的廢棄物，源頭都來自新北和桃園，研判是因為路程近、山區多、監視器少，才會被選作棄置地點，而財政問題，也讓約聘僱的稽查員縮編三分之一，在人力和經費都不足的窘境下，讓苗栗成了不肖業者眼中最方便的棄置地點。地方希望環保署能給予協助，遏阻違法傾倒繼續發生。 記者 邱植培 彭煥群 苗栗報導