Newsletter
RESTRICTIONS ON PLASTIC TRAYS AND CONTAINERS
According to data collected by the Environ-mental Protection Administration (EPA), su-permarkets in Taiwan use approximately 310 metric tons per month of plastic trays and con-tainers made from EPS, PET, PVC, and OPS, for packaging foodstuffs. In order to reduce plastic packaging, on 28 March 2007 the EPA an-nounced restrictions on the use of plastic trays and packaging containers by wholesale-type markets and supermarkets. From 1 July 2007, they must reduce the use of plastic trays and containers for packaging eggs, fresh foods, cakes, pastries and breads, as well as plastic cups, bowls, dishes, and plates used for foods and drinks.
The announcement requires packaging materials to be reduced by 15% in the first year, and by 25% in the second year. The reduction required in subsequent years will be set according to the degree of reduction already achieved. Stores can make the reductions in various ways, such as by refraining from using plastic trays and containers, reducing the weight of such items, or switching to other materials such as paper or vegetable fi-bers.
Wholesale-type markets and supermarkets op-erators must submit a reduction plan to their lo-cal environmental protection authority, and im-plement the reductions accordingly. After the end of each year, they should report the levels of reduction achieved to the EPA. Merchants sub-ject to the above controls that fail to achieve the required annual reductions, fail to submit a re-duction plan, or fail to report the reductions achieved, may be penalized with administrative fines ranging from NT$30,000 to NT$150,000.