The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) is planning to prohibit stores from offering free plastic bags to customers in an attempt to reduce plastic bag consumption, while a mothballed incinerator in Yunlin County should be ready for activation to increase the nation’s waste treatment capacity, EPA Minister Lee Ying-yuan (李應元) said yesterday.
Lee announced the proposed ban on free plastic bags during a radio interview, in which questions were raised about the agency’s plastic bag usage reduction policies following an online campaign organized by a Polish student to phase out free plastic bags in Taiwan.
“Next month is international plastic-free month. I will make a report next month about the progress in preparing for a ban on free plastic bags,” Lee said.
National Chengchi University student Piotr Kurczewski launched an Internet campaign called “Free Taiwan from Free Plastic Bags” to collect signatures to petition President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to ban free plastic bags.
“Taiwanese use 18 billion plastic bags every year. That means a person uses 782 plastic bags in just a year’s time, which is four times as many plastic bags used by Europeans and Australians,” Kurczewski wrote on the campaign’s Web page, questioning Taiwan’s consumer behavior.
Excessive and thoughtless use of plastic bags damages the environment, and the Taiwanese government should require consumers to pay NT$5 for each plastic bag, Kurczewski wrote.
“People are very accustomed to plastic bags, which can be seen floating on rivers and in the sea. The Polish student’s suggestion made me embarrassed, but thankful. It is undoubtedly one of the agency’s goals to ban free plastic bags,” Lee said.
In an attempt to reduce plastic waste and its effect on the environment, the agency last month announced that it would ban the production and sale of personal care products containing plastic microbeads, Lee said, adding that banning plastic bags is also an objective.
Meanwhile, Lee said the Yunlin County Government should resolve legal issues involving the Linnei Waste Incineration Plant in Linnei Township (林內) so the mothballed plant can be started when necessary.
The incinerator has never been activated due to environmental issues and legal disputes between the county government and the plant’s constructor, but there have been calls to start the plant amid a national waste treatment crisis, which began last year.
“The county government should try to resolve property rights issues and have the plant undergo an environmental impact assessment if necessary. The plant would remain mothballed, but it could be used as a contingency option when natural crises create a waste problem,” Lee said.
It was the first time the agency reiterated the necessity of starting the Linnei incinerator since former EPA minister Wei Kuo-yen (魏國彥) proposed doing so last year when hundreds of tonnes of garbage
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