The Taiwan Environmental Information Center and the Kuroshio Ocean Education Foundation have filed a petition with the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) ahead of Earth Day on Wednesday asking the agency to approve a complete ban on Styrofoam containers.
According to the two organizations, the EPA in 2002 passed a policy limiting governmental organizations, private schools, department stores, shopping malls, wholesale stores, supermarkets, convenience store chains, fast-food chains and eateries with physical shops from providing plastic utensils and Styrofoam containers.
However, the policy was not extended to tea store chains, the organizations said.
An estimate by the center placed annual average use of disposable containers and utensils in Taiwan at 59,000 tonnes, with plastic materials — including Styrofoam — comprising 43,000 tonnes per year.
The EPA estimated that tea store chains consumed 200 million plastic cups per year.
Center deputy secretary-general Sun Hsiu-ju (孫秀如) said that Styrofoam disposable containers, while able to hold hot or cold drinks, have a low resistance toward acid and higher temperatures, and, as such, liquids at more than 70oC could release styrene when a plastic cover is put on the cup.
Long-term exposure to styrene can cause cardiac arrhythmia, as well as regressive liver and kidney functions, Sun said, adding that styrene was also a possible carcinogen.
Although the EPA leans toward initiating a full ban on Styrofoam containers, it is under pressure from the food industry to desist, Sun said, adding that the center hoped that the petition would help the EPA toughen its stance on the matter with public support.
In response, EPA Waste Management Division Director Wu Sheng-chung (吳盛忠) said that the environment has been greatly burdened by the Styrofoam production process, adding that the difficulty of recycling the material — a 21.3 percent average recycle rate over the past three years — is of great concern.
The EPA is trying to limit production by cutting down on the manufacture of one-time use plastic products, as well as suggesting to manufacturers that they transition their businesses, Wu said, adding that they have also asked soft-drink stores to offer discounts to consumers who provide their own cups.
The EPA is looking at a draft version of measures limiting Styrofoam drinking cups, which would create a general ban on the material in tea store chains, Wu said, adding that breaches could bring a fine from NT$1,200 to NT$6,000. The agency said it hopes to have the regulations implemented by the end of this year.
In addition, online vendor QC Store has developed a reusable stainless steel straw in an attempt to cut down on disposable utensils.
According to owner Chen Yi-chieh (陳怡潔), on introduction, the straw was polarizing, with some happy about the product and others saying it was a hassle to clean.
However, he added that, after multiple food safety scandals in Taiwan, the product is gaining popularity.
The Taipei Department of Health yesterday said it has launched a probe into a restaurant at Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store after a customer died of suspected food poisoning. A preliminary investigation on Sunday found missing employee health status reports and unsanitary kitchen utensils at Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in the department store’s basement food court, the department said. No direct relationship between the food poisoning death and the restaurant was established, as no food from the day of the incident was available for testing and no other customers had reported health complaints, it said, adding that the investigation is ongoing. Later
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