Single-use tableware ban to start next month: EPA

Staff writer, with CNA





A ban on single-use tableware at restaurants and food courts in shopping centers is to start in 10 municipalities next month, the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) said on Saturday.

Restaurants and food stalls in department stores and malls in Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan and Tainan, as well as Yilan, Hualien, Taitung and Penghu counties, would be prohibited from offering disposable tableware to dine-in customers starting on Jan. 1, the EPA said.

Single-use tableware includes cups, bowls, plates, dishes, lunch boxes, chopsticks, spoons, forks and stirring sticks made of various materials, the agency said.

Various types of single-use tableware is displayed on the Environmental Protection Administration’s Web site in an undated picture. Photo provided by the Environmental Protection Administration

Noncompliant establishments would face an initial fine of NT$1,200 to NT$6,000, followed by a brief grace period to stop giving out the tableware, after which they would face a fine that would increase daily until they abide by the new rules, Department of Waste Management Director-General Lai Ying-ying (賴瑩瑩) said.

A ban in Kaohsiung is to begin on March 1, while Changhua County has not yet set a timeline for implementing the new rules, the EPA said.

As for restaurants and food stalls in hypermarkets, the new regulations are to take effect in Yilan and Hualien counties on Jan. 1; in Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan and Kaohsiung on May 1; in Changhua County on July 1; and in Tainan, Taitung and Penghu on a date to be determined, Lai said.