The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) aims to impose a nationwide ban on the use of Styrofoam cups by the end of the year.
The agency has mapped out draft measures restricting the use of expanded foam plastic to manufacture drink containers such as Styrofoam cups, of which more than 200 million are used per year, but only about 20 percent are recycled.
The ban was proposed because the popular material does not disintegrate easily, thereby damaging landscapes and causing pollution, the administration said.
It also poses a threat to marine and even human life, it added. Ocean life can consume pieces of discarded Styrofoam, putting themselves, their ecosystem and people who consume seafood at risk.
Under the administration’s plan, there will be a grace period after the ban goes into effect because it expects that about 2,000 beverage shops and 10 Styrofoam manufacturers will be affected.
Once that period is up, ban violators will be fined between NT$1,200 and NT$6,000 and ordered to make improvements, while serious offenders could face having their shop shut down.
A toxicology expert at Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital said Styrofoam is bad for human health, expressing hope that people will stop using cups and bowls made from the material.
Yen Tzung-hai (顏宗海), director of the hospital’s Department of Nephrology and Division of Clinical Toxicology, said that Styrofoam can only withstand temperatures of up to about 70?C before it starts releasing the highly toxic compound benzene, which can increase the risk of an array of cancers over a long period of exposure.
He advised eating lots of fruit and vegetables to help metabolize any possible toxins in food or drinks held in Styrofoam containers.
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
A fugitive in a suspected cosmetic surgery fraud case today returned to Taiwan from Canada, after being wanted for six years. Internet celebrity Su Chen-tuan (蘇陳端), known as Lady Nai Nai (貴婦奈奈), and her former boyfriend, plastic surgeon Paul Huang (黃博健), allegedly defrauded clients and friends of about NT$1 billion (US$30.66 million). Su was put on a wanted list in 2019 when she lived in Toronto, Canada, after failing to respond to subpoenas and arrest warrants from the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. Su arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 5am today on an EVA Air flight accompanied by a
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face
RSS