A little more than a month after launching an “own-cup policy,” the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) yesterday said the number of people using their own beverage containers when purchasing a beverage had risen to 4.4 percent.
Under the policy introduced on May 1, fast-food chains, convenience stores and beverage shops have been encouraged to offer discounts or top-ups to customers who bring their own cup rather than the disposable cups provided by the stores.
“An average of 1.5 billion disposable cups are used annually [in Taiwan],” said Lai Ying-ying (賴瑩瑩), deputy director of the EPA’s Department of Waste Management. “We hope to cut the number of disposable cups used by at least 30 percent, which would save up to 450 million cups per year, the equivalent of 110,000 trees.”
The EPA said 271 companies, with a total of 16,757 stores, have embraced the policy. Just over 90 percent are offering cash discounts to cup-bringers, 9.2 percent offer points cards that can be redeemed for discounts and the rest provided bigger drinks for the same price.
Discounts ranged from NT$10 per beverage to one point for each cup purchased redeemable for one free beverage after accumulating 10 points.
The EPA said 720 of the 8,808 stores visited before Sunday had violated the policy and been warned that they could be fined between NT$60,000 and NT$300,000 if they failed to implement changes. Among the violations was the failure to offer discounts as advertised and improper advertising of the promotion, such as using fonts that were too small.
Kuo Hsiu-Ling (郭秀玲), deputy director of the Department of Supervision, Evaluation and Dispute Resolution, said the EPA controlled the quality and safety of reusable cups by only giving “green mark” certification to cups that were safe, reusable and recyclable.
The use of polyvinyl chloride, bisphenol A and phthalates (commonly used as plasticizers) as well as heavy metals are prohibited in “green mark” items, she said.
The EPA said customers should purchase hot beverages using containers made with stainless steel or plastic materials that have better heat resistance, such as containers that are labeled No. 5 (polypropylene) in the plastic classification codes.
Data published by the Japan Plastics Industry Federation shows that polypropylene is heat-resistant at temperatures up to 140°C. A table listing the plastic classification codes and their usages attributes and heat resistance of commonly used plastics are available on the Department of Health’s Web site.
Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung and Taoyuan would issue a decision at 8pm on whether to cancel work and school tomorrow due to forecasted heavy rain, Keelung Mayor Hsieh Kuo-liang (謝國樑) said today. Hsieh told reporters that absent some pressing reason, the four northern cities would announce the decision jointly at 8pm. Keelung is expected to receive between 300mm and 490mm of rain in the period from 2pm today through 2pm tomorrow, Central Weather Administration data showed. Keelung City Government regulations stipulate that school and work can be canceled if rain totals in mountainous or low-elevation areas are forecast to exceed 350mm in
TRAFFIC SAFETY RULES: A positive result in a drug test would result in a two-year license suspension for the driver and vehicle, and a fine of up to NT$180,000 The Ministry of Transportation and Communications is to authorize police to conduct roadside saliva tests by the end of the year to deter people from driving while under the influence of narcotics, it said yesterday. The ministry last month unveiled a draft of amended regulations governing traffic safety rules and penalties, which included provisions empowering police to conduct mandatory saliva tests on drivers. While currently rules authorize police to use oral fluid testing kits for signs of drug use, they do not establish penalties for noncompliance or operating procedures for officers to follow, the ministry said. The proposed changes to the regulations require
EVA Airways president Sun Chia-ming (孫嘉明) and other senior executives yesterday bowed in apology over the death of a flight attendant, saying the company has begun improving its health-reporting, review and work coordination mechanisms. “We promise to handle this matter with the utmost responsibility to ensure safer and healthier working conditions for all EVA Air employees,” Sun said. The flight attendant, a woman surnamed Sun (孫), died on Friday last week of undisclosed causes shortly after returning from a work assignment in Milan, Italy, the airline said. Chinese-language media reported that the woman fell ill working on a Taipei-to-Milan flight on Sept. 22
1.4nm WAFERS: While TSMC is gearing up to expand its overseas production, it would also continue to invest in Taiwan, company chairman and CEO C.C. Wei said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) has applied for permission to construct a new plant in the Central Taiwan Science Park (中部科學園區), which it would use for the production of new high-speed wafers, the National Science and Technology Council said yesterday. The council, which supervises three major science parks in Taiwan, confirmed that the Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau had received an application on Friday from TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, to commence work on the new A14 fab. A14 technology, a 1.4 nanometer (nm) process, is designed to drive artificial intelligence transformation by enabling faster computing and greater power
RSS