On June 8 the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) released draft regulations that would ban the use of single-use plastic drinking straws for dine-in use at restaurants in government offices, schools and colleges, department stores and fast-food chains.
Following the announcement, many Internet users have been posting their fears about how people will be able to drink bubble tea, which contains chewy tapioca balls, without using straws. Even the National Palace Museum joined in with a satirical post on its Facebook page, asking readers which kind of antique spoon they would like to use to drink their bubble tea.
At the beginning of the month, the Taipei and Taoyuan city governments separately announced that air conditioning would be installed at all their elementary and high schools.
This announcement also attracted opinions both for and against it.
Air conditioners are for comfort; drinking straws are for convenience. Just as installing air conditioning in schools is a popular policy, restricting the use of plastic might cause widespread annoyance. Comfort and convenience are not free. They come at a price and are the root causes of many environmental problems around the world.
At a rough estimate, an army of 150,000 air conditioners would be needed to cool every classroom in Taipei. If all these air conditioners were running at the same time, the warm air they pumped out would aggravate the urban heat island effect, making the Taipei Basin hotter and steamier than it already is.
They would also use a huge amount of additional electricity. It makes you wonder whether Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) is serious when he claims he opposes building a new coal-fired power plant in New Taipei City’s Rueifang District (瑞芳).
As for plastic straws, although they are not the biggest contributor to the 8 million tonnes of plastic debris that pour into the world’s seas each year, they do pose a grave threat to marine organisms.
Because straws are so small and light, they are easily carried into the sea by the wind and rivers.
You might have seen photographs of plastic straws stuck in a sea turtle’s nostril and the stomach of an albatross, causing them to suffer and die.
Many people still have faith in fancy words like “degradable” and “recycling,” hoping that they will preserve the convenience of single-use plastic, but the truth is that recycling has failed.
Worldwide use of plastic has multiplied 20 times over the past 50 years, but less than 9 percent of plastic gets recycled, and when it does, it is only used to make low-grade single-use products, rather than reusable ones. Instead of being “broken down,” so-called degradable plastics are mostly only “broken up” into little fragments.
Plastic is still plastic, and marine scientists tell us that when plastic is fragmented into tiny particles it does even more damage to marine ecosystems. It is also easier for plastic microparticles to enter the food chain and eventually end up on everyone’s dinner tables.
The Environmental Quality Protection Foundation applauds the EPA for taking this first step on the path of restricting the use of plastics, but it does not go far enough.
According to the EPA’s Action Plan of Marine Debris Governance in Taiwan, we will have to wait until 2030 for all shops to be completely forbidden to provide plastic straws. That leaves 12 years, in which time more than 100 million straws will probably find their way into the sea from Taiwan. By being so easy on ourselves, we are being ruthless to the sea.
Compare this with Kenya, which in August last year announced a total ban on plastic bags, with offenders facing up to four years in prison or a fine of up to US$40,000.
India is becoming swamped in plastic, but on June 5, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a plan to eliminate single-use plastic products by 2022.
Kenya and India are both developing countries. Is Taiwan really such a mollycoddled country that sucking bubble tea through a straw is the most important thing for us and nobody can feed themselves without using straws?
Humankind’s quest for convenience will never end, but that quest should be within a range that does not overburden the Earth.
Drinking straws are not a real necessity. They can be made of materials other than plastic, or else people can drink in other ways that are really not terribly inconvenient.
The EPA needs to get tough about disposable plastic and actively guide consumer habits. Just as happened a few years ago with the ban on polystyrene foam cups, consumers will eventually get used to doing without them.
Air conditioning and plastic straws provide a small, but accurate reflection of the public’s attitudes to the environment, and they show that Taiwan is still far from being a land of responsible global citizens.
Hsieh Ying-shih is chairman of the Environmental Quality Protection Foundation. Kao Szu-chi is a researcher with the foundation.
Translated by Julian Clegg
Recently, China launched another diplomatic offensive against Taiwan, improperly linking its “one China principle” with UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 to constrain Taiwan’s diplomatic space. After Taiwan’s presidential election on Jan. 13, China persuaded Nauru to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Nauru cited Resolution 2758 in its declaration of the diplomatic break. Subsequently, during the WHO Executive Board meeting that month, Beijing rallied countries including Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Belarus, Egypt, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, Laos, Russia, Syria and Pakistan to reiterate the “one China principle” in their statements, and assert that “Resolution 2758 has settled the status of Taiwan” to hinder Taiwan’s
The past few months have seen tremendous strides in India’s journey to develop a vibrant semiconductor and electronics ecosystem. The nation’s established prowess in information technology (IT) has earned it much-needed revenue and prestige across the globe. Now, through the convergence of engineering talent, supportive government policies, an expanding market and technologically adaptive entrepreneurship, India is striving to become part of global electronics and semiconductor supply chains. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Vision of “Make in India” and “Design in India” has been the guiding force behind the government’s incentive schemes that span skilling, design, fabrication, assembly, testing and packaging, and
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s (李顯龍) decision to step down after 19 years and hand power to his deputy, Lawrence Wong (黃循財), on May 15 was expected — though, perhaps, not so soon. Most political analysts had been eyeing an end-of-year handover, to ensure more time for Wong to study and shadow the role, ahead of general elections that must be called by November next year. Wong — who is currently both deputy prime minister and minister of finance — would need a combination of fresh ideas, wisdom and experience as he writes the nation’s next chapter. The world that
As former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) wrapped up his visit to the People’s Republic of China, he received his share of attention. Certainly, the trip must be seen within the full context of Ma’s life, that is, his eight-year presidency, the Sunflower movement and his failed Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, as well as his eight years as Taipei mayor with its posturing, accusations of money laundering, and ups and downs. Through all that, basic questions stand out: “What drives Ma? What is his end game?” Having observed and commented on Ma for decades, it is all ironically reminiscent of former US president Harry