EPA to Announce Draft Legislation to Restrict Packaging 網購包裝廢棄物增 禁用PVC材質草案預告

Online shopping has become more popular during the epidemic, which, has also created unprecendented amount of packaging waste. That's why the EPA has proposed a draft legislation, hoping to reduce the burden on the environment.

People buy all kinds of goods from the Internet, but they produce a lot of waste such as cardboard boxes and plastic packaging materials. The Environmental Protection Administration pointed out that online shopping sales reached NT$430.3 billion in 2021, an increase of 88 percent compared to 2017. 220 million packages were used, generating 57,000 metric tons of packaging waste. The draft legislation called for stricter regulations for companies with bigger paid-in capital.

Wang Yue-pin, Executive Secretary, Recycling Fund Mgmt. Committee, EPA: “Online shopping operators can also save packaging materials. Consumers then don't have to deal with this garbage, which also reduces the burden on the environment.”

The draft legislation also prohibits PVC materials. Paper packaging should give priority to the original color and use more than 90 percent recycled paper. Plastic packaging must contain more than 25 percent of recycled plastics. For businesses with a capital of more than NT$50 million, the packaging weight for goods less than one kilogram cannot exceed 400 grams. Companies with a capital of NT$150 million must reduce the weight of packaging materials year by year, and the use of recycling boxes should increase each year.

Hsu Sheng-chung, Secretary General, Chinese Non-Store Retailer Association: “Everyone is happy to cooperate because environmental protection and waste reduction are everyone's social responsibilities. (By 2026, recycle box usage must be more than 15 percent. Do you think this can be achieved?) Yes.”

However, some environmental groups believe that the utilization rate of recycling boxes in the first year of more than 2 percent is too low. The EPA said that there is still a second version of the guidelines, which will further standardize the printing ink area and the use of tapes. It is hoped that by 2030, the weight of packaging materials will be reduced by 50 percent.

什麼都能買什麼，什麼都不奇怪。民眾從網路購買五花八門商品，卻製造大量紙箱和塑膠包材等廢棄物。環保署指出，網購銷售額到110年已經達到4303億元，比106年增加88%，但使用2.2億個包裝，產生5.7萬公噸包裝廢棄物，因此決定預告相關限制使用草案，對資本額越高的業者規範越嚴。

環保署回收基管會執行秘書王嶽斌表示：「對網購平台業者其實也能夠節省包材，對消費者而言也不用去處理這些垃圾，對環境也是減少負擔。」

草案內容針對網購包材禁用PVC材質，紙類以原色優先，90%以上回收紙的塑膠再生料摻配要大於25%；針對資本額5千萬以上的業者，要求1公斤以下商品包裝重量不能大於400克；而資本額1.5億元的業者，規定包材要逐年減重，循環箱使用逐年提高。

中華民國無店面零售商業同業公會秘書長許生忠回應：「大家也都很樂意配合，因為這個本來就是環保減量，本來就是大家的社會責任。」

但有環保團體認為，循環箱首年規範使用率大於2%實在太低，業者認為需循序漸進，因為政策也仰賴民眾配合才能推動。環保署表示網購包裝減量指引還有2.0版本，進一步規範印刷油墨面積與膠帶使用等措施，希望到了119年可讓包裝材減重率達到50%，也就是減半的目標。