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.
An undersea cable to Penghu County has been severed, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said today, with a Chinese-funded ship suspected of being responsible. It comes just a month after a Chinese ship was suspected of severing an undersea cable north of Keelung Harbor. The National Communications and Cyber Security Center received a report at 3:03am today from Chunghwa Telecom that the No. 3 cable from Taiwan to Penghu was severed 14.7km off the coast of Tainan, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) upon receiving a report from Chunghwa Telecom began to monitor the Togolese-flagged Hong Tai (宏泰)
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
RISING TOURISM: A survey showed that tourist visits increased by 35 percent last year, while newly created attractions contributed almost half of the growth Changhua County’s Lukang Old Street (鹿港老街) and its surrounding historical area clinched first place among Taiwan’s most successful tourist attractions last year, while no location in eastern Taiwan achieved a spot in the top 20 list, the Tourism Administration said. The listing was created by the Tourism Administration’s Forward-looking Tourism Policy Research office. Last year, the Lukang Old Street and its surrounding area had 17.3 million visitors, more than the 16 million visitors for the Wenhua Road Night Market (文化路夜市) in Chiayi City and 14.5 million visitors at Tainan’s Anping (安平) historical area, it said. The Taipei 101 skyscraper and its environs —
Taiwan on Friday said a New Zealand hamburger restaurant has apologized for a racist remark to a Taiwanese customer after reports that it had first apologized to China sparked outrage in Taiwan. An image posted on Threads by a Taiwanese who ate at Fergburger in Queenstown showed that their receipt dated Sunday last week included the words “Ching Chang,” a racial slur. The Chinese Consulate-General in Christchurch in a statement on Thursday said it had received and accepted an apology from the restaurant over the incident. The comment triggered an online furor among Taiwanese who saw it as an insult to the
RSS