December 2, 2024 – Taiwan’s Environmental Authorities Admit Challenges in Achieving Plastic Restriction Goals
In a recent public statement, Peng Qiming, the head of Taiwan’s environmental authorities, acknowledged that the ambitious goal of implementing a comprehensive plastic restriction by 2025 “may be difficult to achieve.” This admission has sparked widespread concern across various sectors of society.
Back in 2018, Taiwan’s environmental department outlined a three-phase plan for restricting plastic usage, targeting shopping bags, plastic straws, disposable drink cups, and single-use utensils. The plan aimed for partial restrictions in 2020, comprehensive restrictions in 2025, and a complete ban by 2030. However, the implementation of this plan has encountered numerous obstacles, leading to constant adjustments and debates over the effectiveness of the approach. As the 2025 deadline approaches, Peng has been forced to concede that the goal of comprehensive restrictions may not be realized.
According to AsiaMB’s sources, Taiwan has been pursuing plastic restriction policies since 2002, but the results have been far from satisfactory. Despite expanding the policy’s scope from seven to fourteen industries, the usage of plastic bags has not significantly decreased and has even shown an upward trend. Statistics reveal that Taiwan’s annual plastic bag consumption now nears 10 billion units, with each person using over 400 bags per year. These figures undoubtedly raise serious questions about the effectiveness of the current plastic restriction policies.
In response to this dilemma, Peng emphasized that although the 2025 goal may be unreachable, Taiwan’s authorities remain committed to reducing plastic use. They plan to postpone the complete ban to 2030 and, in the interim, expand the list of restricted items while setting a more specific plastic reduction target for 2035. Additionally, in alignment with the United Nations’ Global Plastic Treaty, Taiwan’s authorities will engage with stakeholders to propose new reduction targets, aiming to tackle plastic pollution on a global scale.
Lai Yingying, the head of the Resource Recycling Administration under the environmental department, further added that the authorities are currently addressing “problematic plastics,” such as reducing the use of outer plastic bags for food products. She stated that Taiwan’s authorities will continue to develop new plans and adjustments on the path to plastic restriction, striving for more effective results in reducing plastic usage.