The country’s two-year drive to replace plastic containers with biomass-derived Polylactic Acid (PLA) containers in supermarkets and convenience stores was the topic of heated debate yesterday between legislators and the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA).
PLA is a type of plastic made from a completely biodegradable polyester derived from foods such as corn or sugarcane, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Tien Chiu-chin (田秋堇) said.
However, because PLA is different from other plastics on the market such as Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and Polypropylene (PP), if it is mistakenly recycled as PET or PP and mixed with the other two plastics, the biodegradable material “contaminates” PET and PP and makes them unrecyclable, she said.
Because the public is uninformed on the matter, the material is often mistakenly mixed with PET or PP, Tien said, adding that this not only disrupts plastic recycling, but also paper recycling.
“[This is] because while technologies have been developed to separate plastic coatings on disposable paper bowls and plates, we still cannot successfully separate and recycle PLA-coated papers,” she said.
In addition to complicating recycling efforts, Tien said there were also concerns about whether PLA was truly environmentally friendly.
“According to studies, while PLA can only be recycled once, PP can be recycled five times,” Tien said.
In addition, Tien said it was debatable whether using foodstuffs to produce single-use products was ethical.
She said: “Even the UN has voiced concerns for using biomass for energy, as the organization sees food shortage as the biggest problem humans face today.”
With these problems unresolved, Tien said the EPA should reconsider its recommendation for businesses to switch to PLA containers.
In response, EPA Minister Steven Shen (沈世宏) said that the administration would initiate a panel discussion of experts to evaluate the pros and cons of PLA before a final decision is made.
“A scientific analysis should be conducted to determine whether using PLA products is feasible instead of having supporters and opponents each stating their comments separately,” he said.
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