The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) yesterday announced the best 10 Lunar New Year gifts in terms of packaging and gift wrap conservation, and noted roughly half of the gifts available on the market failed to meet packaging standards to be announced in July.
The EPA called attention to the rule in the hope that producers would comply to the new environmental regulations before they come into effect.
PHOTO: SEAN CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
In an effort to reduce waste, the EPA will in July draft new regulations limiting the amount of packing of most products. The regulations will not only limit the ratio of the gift itself to that of its wrapping, but also the number of layers use in the packaging.
When new regulations become effective, all gifts will allowed to be wrapped with no more than two layers. Violators will be fined between NT$30,000 and NT$150,000.
EPA officials said that wasteful packing would have a negative impact on the environment when the materials are disposed of.
As the Lunar New Year approaches, supermarket shelves have been stocked by a variety of holiday-related gifts. To encourage consumers to choose products that conserve packaging, EPA officials visited six major supermarkets and chose 350 products for analysis. Roughly half of all products sampled would fail to meet the new regulations if they were applied today, officials said.
"Some manufacturers lack concern for the environmental. For example, we found some type of dried goods [such as dried mushrooms] were overwrapped," said Yang Ching-shi (楊慶熙), deputy director-general of the EPA's Solid Waste Control Bureau.
Yesterday, the EPA invited representatives of consumer groups, designers and environmentalists to decide on the top 10 Lunar New Year gifts based on the amount of wrapping use and the creativity of the packaging. They found that the best presents were wrapped more tightly and there was a minimal amount of frivolous packaging.
"We don't recommend presents with accessories," said Cheng Jen-hung (程仁宏), vice chairman of the Consumers' Foundation.
"For example, glasses added in wine boxes may not be used by consumers. Consumers should avoid squandering their money on unwanted goods," Cheng said.
EPA officials said that less then 30 percent of wine presents were wrapped in a manner considerate of the environment because they use flashy but unnecessary decorations. Officials said that product package design should take into account the "Three Rs," meaning reuse, reduce and recycle.
"Presents wrapped environmentally can also look elegant if they are well designed," EPA official Tsay Ting-kuei (蔡丁貴) said.
The top 10 presents all had something in common, officials noted. Presents such as wine, processed food, instant coffee and cakes were all wrapped concisely by simple, non-plastic materials and were nonetheless aesthetically pleasing.
According to Lawrence Hsu (許富堯), director-general of Taiwan Package Design Association, Taiwanese designers need to review their work in the era of globalization and bear the spirit of environmental sustainability.
"We notice that package designers in many countries, such as France, Britain and South Korea have reviewed old-fashioned concepts involving complexity and exaggeration [in package design]," Hsu said.
Among the most frivolous use of packaging included mooncakes produced by a famous restaurant in Taipei for Mid-autumn Festival. The cakes were wrapped with no less than 10 layers, the EPA said.
EPA officials said yesterday they hoped the new regulations would effectively curb such activities.
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