About 63 percent of people still use disposable utensils and straws from convenience stores, the RE-THINK Environmental Education Association said on Tuesday, as it vowed to transform convenience stores into model spaces for environmental awareness.
The organization partnered with National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) researchers and FamilyMart to survey environmental literacy among convenience store customers.
Although respondents agreed it is important to reduce waste from the source, 63 percent said they are still accustomed to taking disposable utensils, the group said.
Photo: Chen Chia-yi, Taipei Times
About 40 percent incorrectly answered questions about common recycling methods at convenience stores, it said, adding that older people were more likely to answer incorrectly.
The survey showed that Taiwanese agree about the importance of recycling and sustainability, but there is still reluctance to cut back on single-use utensils, NTNU Graduate Institute of Sustainability Management and Environmental Education professor Yeh Shin-cheng (葉欣誠) said.
Convenience stores are limited by their promise of convenience, he said, adding that the two greatest challenges to sustainability are cost and convenience.
Hopefully the survey could encourage stores to provide clear incentives and guidance for their customers on environmentally friendly practices, Yeh said.
RE-THINK operates under a “3P” strategy, short for “people, place and planet,” organization cofounder Jason Huang (黃之揚) said.
Practically, this means communicating with the public, designing model spaces for sustainability and encouraging people to donate e-receipts, he said.
It hopes to transform convenience stores into spaces for environmental education, he said, adding that it has created a convenience store “recycling encyclopedia.”
It is also working with FamilyMart on a three-year donation drive to improve environmental education in schools.
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