AmCham Special Luncheon: Meet the Minister of NSTC – Wu Cheng-wen
AmCham Special Luncheon: Meet the Minister of NSTC – Wu Cheng-wen
AmCham Special Luncheon
We would like to thank the Taiwanese government for its continued engagement with our Committee over issues of concern. We look forward to seeing these efforts bear fruit soon.
Given the scale and the importance of Taiwan’s retail and electronics industries, the Committee would especially like to focus on addressing their recycling needs. In this regard, we wish to promote more usage of recycled materials as well as more R&D on biodegradable products. Such efforts would boost the government’s circular economy plan, part of the “5+2 Innovative Industries” program aimed at encouraging the re-use – rather than mere disposal – of waste materials.
We also encourage the government to implement carbon reduction strategies and enforce other carbon-tax-related regulations to make Taiwan’s greenhouse-gas reduction efforts clear to the world.
Suggestion 1. Implement carbon reduction strategies and enforce carbon tax and other related regulations.
We recommend that the Taiwanese government put a price/value on carbon emissions to incentivize businesses and consumers to adopt more energy-efficient practices and reduce their carbon emissions. Some Asian countries have already taken actions in this regard, including South Korea, Japan, and Singapore. Imposition of a carbon tax can be a critical tool to accelerate the deployment of low-carbon technologies, products, services, and infrastructure, as well as to promote the green energy market. We strongly urge the government to implement carbon reduction strategies and enforce other carbon-tax-related regulations.
Suggestion 2: Expand the scope of usage of recycled materials.
Under Article 2 of the Sanitation Standard for Utensils, Containers, and Packages, plastic food containers and packages are not allowed to be “reused.” Unlike the sanitation and food safety hazards posed when plastic food containers are “reused,” the hazards are substantially eliminated and controllable when the plastic containers are “re-manufactured.” In the interest of sustainability and given the plastic recycling methods now available, we therefore suggest that the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) should start conducting a risk-assessment study and explore the related feasibility of manufacturing plastic food containers using recycled plastic materials.
In the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) considers each proposed use of recycled plastic on a case-by-case basis and issues advice as to whether the recycling process can be expected to produce plastic suitable for food-contact applications. The U.S. FDA also has prepared a document with guidance for industry on the use of recycled plastics in food packaging.
We urge the TFDA to adopt regulations that set proper standards and review processes such as “bottle-to-bottle” to allow recycled plastic materials to be used to produce food containers.
Suggestion 3: Better promote the circular economy by encouraging R&D on biodegradable products and enhancing the recycling process.
From the beginning of 2020, the Taiwan Environmental Protection Administration (TEPA) has implemented a series of restrictions on the use of disposable containers and utensils made from all types of material. The policy was made with the good intention of reducing the volume of waste, but it did not foresee the consequences for other sustainability issues such as increased water usage and energy consumption. While most countries prohibit only the use of “plastics” but encourage the use of alternative decomposable materials, Taiwan goes further by imposing a more comprehensive ban.
In fact, materials used to make disposable utensils can still be environmentally friendly, including some resources usually discarded as waste (such as cane bagasse, which can be used to make drinking straws and recycled materials). New technologies and the use of biodegradable materials can significantly decrease the harm to the environment without sacrificing convenience or harming public health.
Besides, the use of biodegradable materials also brings business opportunities and economic benefits, especially if local industries are motivated to develop eco-friendly products not only for the domestic market but also to cater to the growing global market demand for sustainable products. This objective supports the Taiwan government’s goal of creating a circular economy as one of the key national development strategies for promoting industrial upgrading and innovation.
Therefore, instead of banning the use of all disposable food containers and utensils, the government should encourage the use of – and research and development on –biodegradable products. It should also strengthen the current recycling process to enable more recyclable materials to get into the sustainable cycle and create real economic value.
Suggestion 4: Provide more incentives for private-sector use of high-quality recycled building materials.
Since 2017 when the Committee first raised this issue in the White Paper, we have appreciated the Taiwanese government’s efforts to promote the use of recycled building materials in the public sector. While we applaud the progress made, we believe more can be done by providing additional incentives to the private sector. For example, a higher building capacity ratio could be granted to developers who use high-quality recycled building materials.
By “high quality,” we mean building materials made not from the likes of furnace slag, but better-quality materials recycled from products such as solar panels, printed circuit boards, and filters used in semiconductor manufacturing. The goal is to recycle materials used by the green energy and electronic industries that are key to the future of the Taiwanese economy, while also contributing to the government’s circular-economy initiatives.
台北市美國商會永續發展委員會感謝台灣政府持續就關切議題與委員會溝通,我們期待近期可以看到努力的成果。
台灣的零售業和電子產業在全球扮演著舉足輕重的角色,我們希望繼續致力於解決這些產業的回收需求。本委員會建議增加再生材料的使用範圍,鼓勵對可生物降解產品的研究發展及改善回收程序。此將促進政府推動「5+2」創新產業循環經濟的規劃,鼓勵資源再利用而非隨意處置。
我們也鼓勵台灣政府實施減碳策略,強制課徵碳稅等相關稅制,讓全世界一同見證台灣在改善溫室效應問題上的努力。
建議一:政府應制定並施行碳稅相關之法規以落實減碳策略
我們建議台灣政府應針對碳排予以課稅,以敦促業者及消費者採行更具能源效率之措施來降低其碳排量。部份亞洲國家已採行碳稅相關措施,如韓國、日本及新加坡。從加速導入低碳技術、產品、服務及基礎設施,到促進綠能巿場之發展,碳稅乃是重要而不可或缺的手段。我們強烈建議台灣政府應制定並施行碳稅相關法規以達成減碳策略之落實。
建議二:增加再生材料的使用範圍
依據《「食品器具容器包裝衛生標準」》(此為法條正式全名)第2條之規定,塑膠製食品容器和包裝不得「重複使用」。非同於塑膠食品容器「直接重複使用」會造成的食品衛生/食品安全危害,當塑膠食品容器重新製造時,其危害是可被除去且可控制的。基於環境永續以及目前已有的塑膠回收方法,我們建議食藥署應當就使用再生塑膠材料製造的食品塑膠容器,進行可行性風險評估研究。
在美國,食品和藥物管理局(FDA)係針對每個使用再生塑膠的提議,進行具體個案考慮,並就該提議的回收過程提出建議,檢視其是否可生產出適合應用於食品的塑膠材料。此外,FDA亦編寫了一份文件,為業界提供食品包裝使用再生塑膠的基準。
我們呼籲食藥署應採用如「保特瓶回收再製」(bottle to bottle),建立適當標準與審查程序的法規,准許再生塑膠材料用於生產食品容器。
建議三:經由鼓勵研發可生物降解產品(biodegradable products)及改善回收程序,促進循環經濟發展
環保署自2020年初實施了一系列法規限制使用所有材質的免洗餐具。此法規固然用意良善,亦減少了廢棄物,但卻未能預見對永續議題帶來的影響,例如浪費水資源以及增加能源耗損。當世界大多數國家僅禁止使用「塑膠」免洗餐具並鼓勵使用可分解材質,全面禁用各種材質免洗餐具實非最佳方案。
事實上,一些時常被視為廢棄物的材料(例如甘蔗渣用於製作吸管及其他再生材料),亦可做為對環境友善的免洗餐具材質。新科技以及使用可被生物降解材料,亦能在不犧牲大眾便利與公共衛生的情況下,顯著減少對環境的傷害。
此外,使用生物可降解材質也可帶來商業機會與經濟利益,在地產業研發之環境友善產品,若可同時供應國內及全球永續產品市場需求,將可提高業者研發誘因。此呼應2019年蔡總統與行政院所宣示之創建循環經濟率為最重要的國家工業升級與創新發展策略。
因此,與其禁止使用任何材質的免洗具與容器,政府應當鼓勵生物可降解產品的使用、研究與發展,並加強目前回收機制,使更多可回收原料進入永續循環 並創造經濟價值。
建議四:政府應為私營部門提供更多誘因,提倡使用「高品質」再生建築材料
我們感謝台灣政府自2017年永續發展白皮書發表以來,積極推動使用再生建材作為公共部門的建築材料。我們相信可透過更多誘因,促使私營部門也開始使用再生建材,例如,使用「高品質」再生建築材料的開發商可提高允建容積率。而所謂的「高品質」再生建材,其回收來源並非爐渣、汙泥等,而是來自太陽能電池板、印刷電路板及半導體製程所使用之濾材等高質量材料。我們的目標是希望讓綠能產業及電子產業在未來扮演台灣經濟的關鍵角色時,也同時呼應政府提倡循環經濟的理念。