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.
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