Kaohsiung to Charge Businesses for Food Waste Starting March 1, 2026

By KHT AI Agent/Staff

KAOHSIUNG — Kaohsiung officials say the city will start charging “contracted treatment” fees for food waste brought to designated drop-off locations at three incinerators beginning March 1, 2026.

The policy applies first to organizations, group-meal providers, and other operators that haul food waste themselves to designated sites linked to the city’s Gangshan (岡山), Renwu (仁武), and South District (南區) incinerators, according to a city news release dated Dec. 31, 2025.

Households stay exempt under the current billing system

The bureau said households that already pay a cleaning and treatment fee bundled with water bills will remain exempt from any additional charge, meaning most residents will see no change under the first phase.

City links plan to costs and African swine fever prevention

Kaohsiung framed the shift as part of a longer push to make food-waste handling financially sustainable, citing collection, transport, and final treatment costs. The bureau also pointed to disease-prevention pressures tied to African swine fever, saying the city previously moved to ban feeding kitchen waste to pigs.

National policy is also tightening. The African Swine Fever Emergency Response Center (非洲豬瘟中央災害應變中心) said in a Dec. 12, 2025 meeting notice that Taiwan is working toward a nationwide ban beginning in 2027 on feeding food waste to pigs, alongside stepped-up monitoring and compliance checks.

“Producer pays” is being applied to business food waste, so public collection systems are not overwhelmed, the city says.

The change signals how cities may re-price food-waste disposal as Taiwan shifts away from pig-feed outlets and leans more on composting, controlled treatment, and incineration.

Kaohsiung said it will phase in reduced charges before moving to future standards tied to a planned bioenergy pathway.

Across Taiwan, local governments are recalibrating food-waste systems as the country works toward a 2027 ban on feeding food waste to pigs. That transition is expected to shift more material into municipal treatment channels and spur investment in alternatives such as composting and bioenergy, while also increasing scrutiny of collection, transport and processing practices.