By RK Shih. Images via Pingtung County Govt.
PINGTUNG — Pingtung County’s Environmental Protection Bureau (屏東縣政府環境保護局) said it has stepped up its crackdown on illegal dumping by combining roadside inspections, police cooperation, and AI-powered surveillance.
The bureau said its “dragnet” inspection and technology enforcement program has shifted the county’s approach from passively responding to reports to actively intercepting suspected waste transport vehicles before dumping takes place.
From 2023 to mid-May this year, the bureau and police inspected 707 transport vehicles, including tractor-trailers, the county government said. Of those cases, 109 were referred for criminal investigation, while 52 vehicles or pieces of equipment were seized.
The bureau said technology-based enforcement also helped identify 1,209 illegal waste-dumping cases.
Inspection Section Chief Wang Yi-hsuan (王奕軒) said illegal dumping cases often take place late at night or in remote areas, requiring inspectors to work with police on overnight stakeouts and vehicle stops.
In one case in July last year, inspectors responded to a report of illegal backfilling near the Dajhou Embankment (大洲堤防) along the Gaoping River (高屏溪). The bureau said suspects abandoned a vehicle and fled, but inspectors stayed at the scene until morning and later intercepted a suspect who returned to the site.
In another case, inspectors and police stopped a tractor-trailer near the Ligang Interchange (里港交流道) on National Freeway No. 10 (國道10號) in August last year. Although the driver produced transport documents, inspectors detected an oily odor from the load and found that the listed receiving site was no longer operating. Testing later confirmed the material was industrial sludge exceeding legal standards, the bureau said.
The county government said illegal operators have used methods including blacking out license plates, covering waste with clean soil, and falsifying documents to disguise dumping.
Pingtung County Magistrate Chou Chun-mi (周春米) said the bureau has introduced an AI recognition system this year to improve monitoring in remote dumping hot spots. The county has installed 50 AI surveillance cameras at 25 high-risk locations, allowing the system to automatically flag suspicious vehicles or dumping behavior around the clock.
The county has also secured NT$8 million from the Ministry of Environment (環境部) to expand its “smart fence” system from five locations to 21. The system will integrate cloud databases, vehicle recognition, and Internet of Things monitoring to track suspicious waste transport activity, the county government said.
Chou said environmental crimes are highly mobile and difficult to detect, and warned illegal operators not to treat Pingtung as a dumping ground.
