Greenpeace Taiwan yesterday performed a vertical dance on the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) building, in an effort to raise public awareness of plastic waste in the oceans.
It was the first time that the organization gained permission to climb the building and perform the dance hanging from the side of it.
The participants portrayed marine animals that had mistaken plastic waste for food and then suffocated, in a bid to remind the public to limit the amount of plastic they use in their daily lives.
Photo: Huang Yao-cheng, Taipei Times
At the event, EPA Minister Lee Ying-yuan (李應元) said his agency would enact policies to limit and reduce plastic use, as well as to clean the nation’s beaches and waters.
The reduction of the use of plastic is a global issue concerning sustainable development, so the administration is to hold a national beach cleanup program on World Earth Day on April 22 and begin a campaign to remove trash from the ocean in early June, Lee said.
Regulations that limit stores giving customers free plastic bags are to be expanded next year, Lee said.
In addition, the production and import of personal care products containing plastic microbeads is to be banned from Jan. 1 next year, while the sale of such products is to be banned from July 1 that year, Lee said.
However, the problem has to be tackled by people changing their lifestyles, so the administration is encouraging a plastic-free lifestyle this year, while a non-governmental organization affiliated with the UN is to hold a conference in Penghu in October next year, Lee said.
Greenpeace Taiwan oceans campaigner Yen Ning (顏寧) said the group hopes the public understands that by putting up with a little inconvenience in their daily lives — such as by not using straws or preparing their own lunch boxes — they can reduce plastic pollution and its harm to marine life.
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