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.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
RSS