People should either spend their spare coins or deposit them in bank accounts to reduce minting costs and to cut carbon emissions, the central bank said yesterday.
The link between achieving net zero emissions and spending spare change might seem tenuous, but helping Taiwan reach the goal only requires people to “lift a finger,” the central bank wrote on Facebook.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on April 22, 2021 — which was Earth Day — announced the government’s aim to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.
Photo: CNA
In March last year, the National Development Council unveiled a plan to increase the share of renewable sources in the country’s electricity supply to 60 to 70 percent by 2050.
“When people do not spend their coins, the central bank has to produce more to meet demand, which increases minting costs and produces more carbon emissions,” the central bank said.
One simple thing that people can do to “help protect the ecosystem” is to gather all those “coins from their heavy wallets and those hidden in corners of their homes and spend them,” it said.
Alternatively, coins can be deposited in bank accounts, which helps increase coin circulation and cuts the need to produce more, it said.
Seven financial institutions in Taiwan — Cathay United Bank, Taishin International Bank, Bank SinoPac, CTBC Bank, Shanghai Commercial & Savings Bank, Bank of Taiwan and Chunghwa Post — have automated coin deposit machines, providing a convenient way to deposit coins, the central bank said.
Conversely, people could use coins to top up their EasyCards, iPasses or other electronics payment cards at metro stations or convenience stores, it said.
“Use those coins that have been lying around your home and in your wallet,” the central bank said, calling on people “to do their bit to protect the planet.”
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