Up to 22.7 billion green points were given to 1.11 million people over the past decade, generating a total of NT$2.1 billion (US$68.3 million) in green consumption, Deputy Minister of Environment Yeh Jiunn-horng (葉俊宏) said yesterday.
The Ministry of Environment launched the Green Point scheme in 2015 with the Green Point app, where users could collect and redeem green points for discounts or products.
Several functions were included in the app to provide immediate user feedback, the ministry said.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Environment
For example, users’ rail transportation mileage would be tracked and represented as carbon reduction amounts on the app, it said.
Users can also redeem points for products in plastic-free shopping at the Jianguo Flower Market (建國花市) in Taipei and get a preferential price if the vendor has a plastic reduction label or offers coupons, it added.
“Give Circle,” the largest resource sharing platform in Taiwan, would soon be launched to help extend products’ lifespans, the ministry said.
Users can donate second-hand clothes or other items via the platform and get green points in return, it said.
Aside from 7-Eleven, FamilyMart and Hi-Life convenience stores, OK Mart stores would also participate in the scheme to allow point collection and redemption, the ministry said.
The cooperation with FamilyMart stores has been extended to recycling batteries, burying expiring fresh foods and using reusable cups or shopping bags, through which users can collect points, it said.
Green points collected via iPass cards can be redeemed not only for purchases in convenience stores, but also to take public transportation or pay utility bills, the ministry said.
The ministry plans to scale up the scheme by adding point redemption products, as well as cooperating with more sales channels to redeem points, Yeh said.
Green points used to be collected only through environmentally friendly actions such as green purchases, and their redemption was limited to products with green marks, he said.
Such restrictions have been relaxed, as points can be redeemed for products without green marks from this year, Yeh said.
Companies — especially listed and over-the-counter companies — are encouraged to buy green points from the government and use them as little gifts for investors at their shareholders’ meetings, he said.
People who are not interested in redeeming their points can also donate them to charitable organizations, Yeh said.
The ministry would continue to cooperate with local governments, as well as more sales channels and e-commerce platforms, to promote the scheme over the next decade, he said.
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
City buses in Taipei and New Taipei City, as well as the Taipei MRT, would on Saturday begin accepting QR code payments from five electronic payment providers, the Taipei Department of Transportation said yesterday. The new option would allow passengers to use the “transportation QR code” feature from EasyWallet, iPass Money, iCash Pay, Jkopay or PXPay Plus. Passengers should open their preferred electronic payment app, select the “transportation code” — not the regular payment code — unlock it, and scan the code at ticket readers or gates, General Planning Division Director-General Liu Kuo-chu (劉國著) said. People should move through the
RSS