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Think green when using vouchers, EPA urges consumers

The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) yesterday urged people thinking of what they will buy with the government’s consumer vouchers next year to opt for Green Mark products to protect the environment.

“A fifth of the nation’s pollution come from volatile organic compounds [VOC] emitted from consumer products such as nail polish, incense, white-out, paint, paper money [for religious rituals] and air-fresheners,” EPA Director-General of Air Quality Protection and Noise Control Yang Ching-shi (楊慶熙) said. “When these things evaporate and are inhaled by people, the substances can cause harm the respiratory system or irritate the skin.”

The number of bad air quality days has been reduced in recent years, but VOCs — most commonly benzene, toluene and formaldehyde — still contribute to smog formation, Yang said.

“When VOCs and nitrogen oxide from factories and motor vehicles react under the sun, smog — or ground level ozone — is formed,” Yang said.

Unlike the ozone layer that protects the Earth from ultraviolet rays, ground level ozone causes asthma, chest discomfort and damage to lung tissue, he said.

Though 44 percent of non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHC) emitted in the country come from factories and 29 percent from transportation, 19 percent of the pollutants come from burning incense and candles or painting homes or fingernails, Yang said.

The EPA plans to regulate VOC content levels in consumer products the way Hong Kong, Canada and California have done and it will try to persuade the public to choose VOC-free or low-VOC products, Yang said.

“We encourage people to refrain from using VOC-laden products and choose alternatives instead,” he said.

“For example, instead of using air-fresheners, people can deodorize with coffee grounds or sliced lemons. They can opt for water-based paints when decorating homes and offices, and choose adhesives that are environmentally friendly,” he said.

If people must use products containing VOCs, they should make sure that their space is well ventilated, he said.

“A good way to identify these products is from the smell — most products containing VOCs have a sharp and distinct odor or fragrance,” Yang said.

Products that easily dry out when left open to the air or those that cannot be easily washed out by water may also contain VOCs, he said.

“As the government is giving out NT$3,600 in consumer vouchers to each Taiwanese next year, we are urging people to spend their vouchers wisely and on products that will not harm the environment,” Yang said.


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