ONE STEP AT A TIME: The EPA is to introduce bans on single-use tableware, plastic straws and other items in three phases, starting with a ‘restriction’ on their use
Taipei Times
Date: Dec 19, 2018
By: Hsiao Yu-hsin and Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporter, with staff writer
While the amount of plastic bags found in local waters has significantly decreased, plastic
The Society of Wilderness displays a Christmas tree made of more than 10,000 waste straws collected from local beaches during a news conference in Taipei on Monday held to remind the public not to create marine waste. Photo: Hsiao Yu-hsin, Taipei Times
straws are becoming a greater contributor to marine debris, the Taipei-based Society of Wilderness environmental group said on Monday.
Since 2004, the group has participated in the International Coastal Cleanup, with cleanups taking place nationwide in September each year, society executive director Liu Yueh-mei (劉月梅) said.
This year, plastic bottles (46,976), bottle caps (43,733) and plastic straws (36,660) were the most common types of marine debris volunteers found, she said.
They also collected 16,364 plastic bags, which made up 5.7 percent of all items collected, Liu said, adding that this percentage has drastically fallen over the past decade.
Under the draft law amendment, foreign workers will be granted the right to remain in Taiwan if they are exposed to some disaster on the job, the NIA said.
The agency issued the statement after several immigrants’ rights groups called for better protection of the rights and interests of new immigrants in Taiwan earlier in the day. [FULL STORY]
