From 2025, hotels in Taiwan would be restricted from supplying single-use toiletries unless they are specifically requested, the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) said on Monday.
Under the new guidelines, which the EPA announced on its Web site, liquid toiletries such as shampoo, conditioner, shower gel and lotion would have to be provided in bottles with a volume of at least 180ml.
Meanwhile, disposable items such as combs, razors, toothbrushes, toothpaste and shower caps would no longer be offered in guests’ rooms, although hotels would be allowed to provide them on request, the EPA said.
Photo courtesy of the Kaohsiung Tourism Bureau via CNA
The regulations would not apply to hotel facilities outside of guest rooms, such as spas or swimming pools, the agency said.
The EPA reviewed the new regulations in January and initially said that stage one of the plan would be implemented on July 1, which did not happen.
The implementation date was changed to Jan. 1, 2025, to give the estimated 14,500 affected hotels, bed and breakfast facilities and catered campsites enough time to adapt, Wang Yueh-pin (王嶽斌), executive secretary of the EPA’s Recycling Fund Management Board, said in an interview on Monday.
By mandating the use of larger, reusable bottles for toiletries in hotels, the EPA estimated that plastic waste from smaller, disposable bottles could be cut by about 2,100 tonnes per year.
Hotels found contravening the rules would face a fine of NT$1,200 to NT$6,000, with the possibility of further penalties if no improvements are made, the EPA said.
Beijing could eventually see a full amphibious invasion of Taiwan as the only "prudent" way to bring about unification, the US Department of Defense said in a newly released annual report to Congress. The Pentagon's "Annual Report to Congress: Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China 2025," was in many ways similar to last year’s report but reorganized the analysis of the options China has to take over Taiwan. Generally, according to the report, Chinese leaders view the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) capabilities for a Taiwan campaign as improving, but they remain uncertain about its readiness to successfully seize
Taiwan is getting a day off on Christmas for the first time in 25 years. The change comes after opposition parties passed a law earlier this year to add or restore five public holidays, including Constitution Day, which falls on today, Dec. 25. The day marks the 1947 adoption of the constitution of the Republic of China, as the government in Taipei is formally known. Back then the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) governed China from Nanjing. When the KMT, now an opposition party in Taiwan, passed the legislation on holidays, it said that they would help “commemorate the history of national development.” That
Taiwan has overtaken South Korea this year in per capita income for the first time in 23 years, IMF data showed. Per capita income is a nation’s GDP divided by the total population, used to compare average wealth levels across countries. Taiwan also beat Japan this year on per capita income, after surpassing it for the first time last year, US magazine Newsweek reported yesterday. Across Asia, Taiwan ranked fourth for per capita income at US$37,827 this year due to sustained economic growth, the report said. In the top three spots were Singapore, Macau and Hong Kong, it said. South
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
RSS