Hotels that meet targets to reduce plastic water bottles in guest rooms from next year are to be eligible for a cash incentive of NT$30,000 (US$914), a senior Ministry of Environment official told a news conference in Taipei on Tuesday.
The incentive is part of government efforts to reduce single-use plastics in the lodging industry, the ministry said.
The ministry would launch two incentives to help cut plastic waste in the hotel industry after separate regulations restricting the use of disposable toiletries in hotel rooms take effect on Jan. 1 next year, Resource Circulation Administration Director-General Lai Ying-ying (賴瑩瑩) said.
Photo: Chen Chia-yi, Taipei Times
Hotels that do not supply bottled water in more than 50 percent of their rooms would be eligible for a NT$30,000 subsidy from their local government, Lai said, adding that the payments would be limited to five establishments per administrative region.
Hotel operators that establish a bottle refilling system would be eligible for subsidies of up to NT$5 million, with funding limited to five establishments per region, Lai said.
Eliminating single-use supplies and water in plastic bottles in hotels would reduce plastic waste by about 2,300 tonnes and carbon emissions by about 3,000 tonnes annually, the ministry said.
The restrictions on disposable toiletries would apply to liquid products such as shampoo, conditioner, body wash and body lotion, requiring them to be provided in large bottles, not single-use packaging, the ministry said.
In addition, personal hygiene items such as combs, toothbrushes, toothpaste, razors, shaving foam and shower caps must not be openly displayed, it said.
However, facilities outside guest rooms, including swimming pools and business centers, would not be subject to the restrictions, it said.
Taipei and New Taipei City government officials are aiming to have the first phase of the Wanhua-Jungho-Shulin Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line completed and opened by 2027, following the arrival of the first train set yesterday. The 22km-long Light Green Line would connect four densely populated districts in Taipei and New Taipei City: Wanhua (萬華), Jhonghe (中和), Tucheng (土城) and Shulin (樹林). The first phase of the project would connect Wanhua and Jhonghe districts, with Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Chukuang (莒光) being the terminal stations. The two municipalities jointly hosted a ceremony for the first train to be used
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday said it is fully aware of the situation following reports that the son of ousted Chinese politician Bo Xilai (薄熙來) has arrived in Taiwan and is to marry a Taiwanese. Local media reported that Bo Guagua (薄瓜瓜), son of the former member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is to marry the granddaughter of Luodong Poh-Ai Hospital founder Hsu Wen-cheng (許文政). The pair met when studying abroad and arranged to get married this year, with the wedding breakfast to be held at The One holiday resort in Hsinchu
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon this morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan between Friday and Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The storm, which as of 8am was still 1,100km southeast of southern Taiwan, is currently expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, the CWA said. Because of its rapid speed — 28kph as of 8am — a sea warning for the storm could be issued tonight, rather than tomorrow, as previously forecast, the CWA said. In terms of its impact, Usagi is to bring scattered or
An orange gas cloud that leaked from a waste management plant yesterday morning in Taoyuan’s Guanyin District (觀音) was likely caused by acidic waste, authorities said, adding that it posed no immediate harm. The leak occurred at a plant in the district’s Environmental Science and Technology Park at about 7am, the Taoyuan Fire Department said. Firefighters discovered a cloud of unidentified orange gas leaking from a waste tank when they arrived on the site, it said, adding that they put on Level A chemical protection before entering the building. After finding there was no continuous leak, the department worked with the city’s Department
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