A recent survey conducted by the Environmental Protection Admin-istration (EPA) showed that only 20 percent of the population reported that they frequently brought along non-disposable utensils to dine out.
The survey indicated that another 85 percent said that they supported the government policy of banning the use of disposable utensils in school cafeterias as well as restaurants for government organizations.
Beginning in July, the administration banned cafeterias located in government organizations from providing disposable utensils for dine-in customers. The ban extends to bowls, chopsticks, plates and spoons.
In September, school cafeterias were required to follow the same regulation.
On the issue of limiting plastic bag consumption, more than 60 percent of the nation's population welcomed the administration's decision to allow food service operators to begin providing free plastic bags to customers.
The administration began to restrict the use of plastic bags in 2003.
The ban prevented the owners of department stores, shopping malls, hypermarkets, convenience stores, fast food restaurants and regular restaurants from providing free plastic bags to their customers.
A customer must pay NT$1 to NT$2 for a bag.
This year, however, the administration decided to begin allowing free plastic bags to be offered by food service operators.
The administration made the decision because of concerns that plastic bags used for food or soup could pose a health risk if they were reused.
The survey revealed other significant findings.
Approximately 77 percent of respondents said they had cut back on the use of plastic bags.
Close to 72 percent said that they regularly carried used plastic bags with them when they shooped in hypermarkets or in supermarkets.
Only 43.4 percent said they brought their own plastic bags to convenience stores.
About 40 percent said they did not ask for bags when making purchases at convenience stores.
The survey also found that about 45 percent of respondents had continued not to consume plastic bags, even after the ban on those offered by restaurants was lifted.
"This is indeed an improvement," a statement issued by the EPA said, "given that only 18 percent reported carrying their own plastic bags before the policy was officially implemented five years ago."
Sixty-eight percent of the population said that they supported the government's decision to continue restricting the use of plastic bags.
Regarding the use of reusable utensils, a cross analysis of the survey found that women from 45 to 59 years of age who had earned college degrees reported carrying their own utensils most often.
Among frequent carriers of non-disposable utensils, 96.2 percent said that they carried chopsticks, whereas 55.2 percent carried spoons.
The EPA's telephone survey was conducted between Nov. 14 and Nov. 17.
It targeted consumers 18 years of age or above in 23 cities and counties nationwide.
It included 1,104 participants and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percent.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
Former Taiwan People’s Party chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) may apply to visit home following the death of his father this morning, the Taipei Detention Center said. Ko’s father, Ko Cheng-fa (柯承發), passed away at 8:40am today at the Hsinchu branch of National Taiwan University Hospital. He was 94 years old. The center said Ko Wen-je was welcome to apply, but declined to say whether it had already received an application. The center also provides psychological counseling to people in detention as needed, it added, also declining to comment on Ko Wen-je’s mental state. Ko Wen-je is being held in detention as he awaits trial
RSS