A review of punitive measures for a new environmental policy that limits the use of plastic bags and dinning utensils offers greater consideration to offenders, the Environ-mental Protection Administration said yesterday.
Starting Feb. 16, stores affected by the policy that fail to abide by the ban will initially be given a warning notice with fines of at least NT$60,000 being dished out one month later if they continue to ignore the new measures.
The EPA originally said that beginning Feb. 16 violators would pay a fine of between NT$60,000 and NT$300,000, according to Article 51 of the Waste Disposal Act (
Local media, however, attributed the change of heart to poor policy design.
On Jan. 1, the ban on free plastic bags and utensils extended from all government-run stores to department stores, supermarkets, fast-food restaurants, convenience stores and almost every type of retailer, except street vendors.
So far, however, many shop owners have adopted a wait and see approach rather than full compliance.
The EPA revealed on Feb. 6 its revised details of punishments.
"The revision creates a balance between enforcing the policy and giving consideration to people's feelings," Chen Hsiung-wen (陳雄文), director-general of the EPA's Bureau of Solid Waste Management, said yesterday.
The EPA yesterday held a meeting to devise strategies to help implement the revised policy when it comes into effect on Feb. 16, deciding that its local bureaus should inspected all stores by category.
The priority targets, Chen said, are department stores and large chain stores.
"If any big store violates the policy, a NT$60,000 fine is still affordable," Chen said.
Chen said that ticketing big stores would help send a message to smaller business owners.
Strong opposition to the new measures was expected because, for many storeowners, NT$60,000 exceeds monthly income.
According to Chen, the EPA has done its best to assist all affected stores, including offering subsidies to stores that encourage consumers to bring their own utensils and install tableware washing facilities.
The policy, Chen said, had attracted media attention from other countries, including the US, Japan, Germany and the UK.
Foreign journalists contacted the EPA for information on the measures and compared efforts to tackle plastic waste with what is taking place in their own countries.
Unemployed plastic-industry workers affected by the implementation of the policy said last month that they would unite behind violators of the policy this month to protest against the EPA.
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