Hotels that meet targets to reduce plastic water bottles in guest rooms from next year are to be eligible for a cash incentive of NT$30,000 (US$914), a senior Ministry of Environment official told a news conference in Taipei on Tuesday.
The incentive is part of government efforts to reduce single-use plastics in the lodging industry, the ministry said.
The ministry would launch two incentives to help cut plastic waste in the hotel industry after separate regulations restricting the use of disposable toiletries in hotel rooms take effect on Jan. 1 next year, Resource Circulation Administration Director-General Lai Ying-ying (賴瑩瑩) said.
Photo: Chen Chia-yi, Taipei Times
Hotels that do not supply bottled water in more than 50 percent of their rooms would be eligible for a NT$30,000 subsidy from their local government, Lai said, adding that the payments would be limited to five establishments per administrative region.
Hotel operators that establish a bottle refilling system would be eligible for subsidies of up to NT$5 million, with funding limited to five establishments per region, Lai said.
Eliminating single-use supplies and water in plastic bottles in hotels would reduce plastic waste by about 2,300 tonnes and carbon emissions by about 3,000 tonnes annually, the ministry said.
The restrictions on disposable toiletries would apply to liquid products such as shampoo, conditioner, body wash and body lotion, requiring them to be provided in large bottles, not single-use packaging, the ministry said.
In addition, personal hygiene items such as combs, toothbrushes, toothpaste, razors, shaving foam and shower caps must not be openly displayed, it said.
However, facilities outside guest rooms, including swimming pools and business centers, would not be subject to the restrictions, it said.
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