Burning trimmed branches

Burning weeds after tidying up vegetable farm

　According to the statistics on the air pollution complaint cases from the Environmental Protection Bureau, Nantou County Government, there were a total of 1,048 complaint cases on air pollution and odor between January to October of 2022, amongst these, air pollution cases caused by combustion in the open air came to a total of 379 cases, taking up 33.3% of air pollution complaint cases, which was the most out of air pollution complaint cases.

　The air pollution resulting from combustion in the open air not only will affect the air quality due to PM2.5 and PM10, but may also cause discomfort to the respiratory tract and affect the body's health, while the dense smoke produced can possibly result in a decrease in visibility. Amongst the complaint cases of combustion in the open air, the most commonly seen is people directly burning the weeds or trimmed branches after tidying up their homeland just for convenience, we are now reminding everyone that any burning action, including burning weeds and branches, will be fined NT$1,200 to NT$100 thousand according to Paragraph 1 under Article 67 of the Air Pollution Control Act if the act of violation has been proven by Subparagraph 1 of Paragraph 1 under Article 32 of the same act; if the violator is a factory site, NT$100 thousand to NT$5 million will be fined.

　Director-general Li of the Environmental Protection Bureau calls out to everyone that the air quality requires everybody to maintain, especially in the fall/winter seasons when the air quality is already affected by the northeast monsoon. If combustion in the open air is discovered, people can call the 24hr complaint hotline of the Environmental Protection Bureau, Nantou County Government at 049-2234685 to report, or use the mobile phone Public Hazard Report APP to provide photos of the venue of combustion in the open air, where our bureau will immediately dispatch personnel to inspect upon receiving the report.