Plastic-product makers may shift their production lines to China following the implementation of a new environmental-protection policy that will limit the use of plastic shopping bags and disposable dining utensils.
Beginning today, the first stage of the new policy, to be implemented by the Environmental Protection Administration, requires that government operated grocery stores, restaurants in government buildings, public and private schools and the military stop providing free plastic bags and disposable dining utensils.
In the second stage, scheduled to start on Jan. 1 next year, the ban will be expanded to include department stores, supermarkets, convenience stores and fast-food restaurants, the administration said.
Moving on
"We will have to find other locations outside the country just to survive," Chou Ming-hui (
Union members attributed a recent 50 percent to 70 percent drop in orders for plastic bags and disposable dining utensils to the new policy, which was first announced by the administration in January, Chou said.
Representatives of the local plastics industry visited China in April to look for new business opportunities. On July 23, 46 union members will visit Fuzhou, Quanzhou, Qingdao, and Shanghai to gather information about establishing factories in China, Chou said.
Fujian's Quangang District, China's third-largest industrial zone that is focused on petrochemical development, has been rapidly expanding in recent years, Chou said.
The new environmental policy will affect about 2,000 domestic plastic-product producers and about 100,000 workers, Chou said.
Plastic processors plan to demonstrate against the new measures in August. "We hope that the government will decide to make an effort to keep this industry in Taiwan," Chou said.
When administration head Hau lung-bin (郝龍斌), met with manufacturers on June 19, he declined to make any promises for a change in the administration's policy.
The new measures, according to administration estimates, will reduce shopping-bag consumption by 30.8 percent and disposable-dining-utensil consumption by 37.7 percent by the end of next year. As a result, plastics processors will consume 36,000 tonnes less in raw materials, which is 3.5 percent of the existing plastic-production market in Taiwan, the administration said.
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