TAIPEI – Beginning January 1, 2018, Taiwan will ban an additional 80,000 stores from offering free plastic shopping bags to customers in an effort to further reduce the use of plastic, the country’s Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) said.

Focus Taiwan writes that since 2002, establishments such as government agencies, schools, department stores, shopping malls, hypermarkets, supermarkets, convenience stores and fast-food restaurant chains have been prohibited from providing customers with free plastic shopping bags. The current ban applies to about 20,000 stores and has resulted in a supply decrease of 2 billion plastic shopping bags per year.

The government says the 2018 ban will be expanded to 80,000 retailers such as electronics, pharmacies and books/stationary, bakeries and medical equipment.

Beginning next year, hypermarkets, supermarkets or convenience stores in these cities will only be allowed to sell government-certified garbage bags that can also be used as shopping bags to customers who wish to buy a shopping bag.

Also taking effect in 2018, the EPA will ban the manufacture and importation of shampoos, shower gels, facial cleansers, soaps, scrubs and toothpastes that contain plastic particles and will prohibit their sale in Taiwan beginning on July 1.

The NACS Convenience Summit–Asia is scheduled for March 12-15, 2018, in Hong Kong. Stay tuned for more information on the conference.