Improper disposal of cigarette butts is harmful to the environment and will incur fines, the Ministry of Environment said on Wednesday, as it announced a planned educational initiative against cigarette littering.
Many people treat sewers and gutters as ashtrays, but it has significant ecological impacts, Minister of Environment Peng Chi-ming (彭啟明) told a question-and-answer session at the legislature.
The ministry is therefore in discussions with the Ministry of Health and Welfare and other agencies to organize a public service initiative urging people to properly dispose of cigarette butts, he said, adding that the timing is still uncertain.
Photo: Chen Feng-li, Taipei Times
The initiative would include working with convenience stores on educational efforts about environmental impacts, as well as local governments and the media to inform about the accumulation of cigarette butts in gutters, Peng said.
Authorities would also make increased use of video surveillance to report and fine those caught littering, he added.
From 2018 to last year, 250,628 fines had been issued for littering cigarette butts under the Waste Disposal Act (廢棄物清理法), comprising 77.6 percent of all such penalties, ministry data show.
Fines can range from NT$1,200 to NT$6,000, the act says.
The National Environmental Research Academy is also conducting research on the ecological impacts of microplastics from cigarette filters, to be presented internationally, Peng said.
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