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.
The coast guard drove away 567 Chinese boats and seized seven illegally operating in Taiwanese waters in the first six months of this year, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday. They mostly operated near Kinmen and Penghu counties, resulting in fines totaling NT$1.7 million (US$52,440), it said. Three ships — two near Kinmen County and one near Penghu County — were detained in January for illegally crossing the border, while one ship each was detained near Kinmen in February and Penghu in March respectively, it said. The ship seized near Penghu in January was the Yun Ao (雲澳), detained by the CGA’s
Military photovoltaic projects have been found to have used Chinese-made devices blacklisted by the government, including Huawei Technologies Co routers, the Ministry of National Defense’s Armaments Bureau said on Thursday. An ongoing investigation has identified the illegal use of 128 current transformers, two routers and a data reader at the Hungchailin Army Base, Pinghai Navy Base and Tri-Service General Hospital’s Songshan branch, it said. The devices were manufactured in the Chinese factories of German solar energy equipment supplier SMA Solar Technology, Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Delta Electronics Co, Chinese electronics manufacturer Huawei and Taiwanese industrial PC maker Advantech Co, the bureau said. The bureau’s
Hong Kong’s Andy Lau (劉德華) on Wednesday announced that he would perform in Taiwan for the first time since 2013, with four shows at the Taipei Arena from Oct. 31 to Nov. 3. The concerts are part of Lau’s upcoming “Today... is the Day” tour, which began in Shanghai yesterday. He is also to perform in Singapore and Malaysia as part of the tour. In a news release, Lau said it felt good to be able to rehearse his dancing and singing for the tour, even though he had to don a face mask. “Holding these concerts has been something I have
Beijing’s recent provocative actions against the Philippines in the South China Sea were partly meant as a “dress rehearsal” for the invasion of Taiwan, former US deputy national security advisor Matt Pottinger said at a Heritage Foundation forum in Washington on Tuesday. Beijing’s blocking of a Philippine resupply mission on June 17 with unprecedented violence had multiple implications. “What they’re doing is trying to demonstrate that they can blockade, create a sense of futility and discredit the idea that the United States is going to help not only the Philippines, but by extension Taiwan,” Pottinger said. Pottinger was referring to a clash