Hotels in Taiwan will be restricted from supplying single-use toiletries and hospitality necessities from July 1 under new Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) rules aimed at reducing plastic waste.

In a press release Friday, the EPA said that hospitality businesses including hotels, hostels, bed & breakfasts, and catered campsites will only be able to provide free disposal toiletries and necessities such as toothbrushes, razors, slippers, combs, shower gel and shampoo bottles to guests that ask for them.

Under the second phase of the EPA’s plan, the agency said lodging providers would be required to offer a discount of at least 5 percent to customers who select a room that does not come with single-use toiletries.

Another option would be for businesses to allow customers to buy such items, the EPA said, adding that the implementation of the phase could be flexibly determined by Taiwan’s local governments, respectively.

According to the EPA, the proposed regulations are based on Article 21 of the Waste Disposal Act, which stipulates that “articles or the packaging and containers thereof for which there is concern of serious pollution to the environment, the central competent authority may officially announce the prohibition of use or the restriction of manufacturing, import, sales and use.”

EPA Recycling Fund Management Board executive director Wang Yueh-bin (???) said that businesses caught violating the regulations would be fined between NT$1,200 (US$39.06) and NT$6,000, with the possibility of further penalties that could be added on a daily basis.

According to Wang, the local government in Nantou County, home to many hotels and hostels, has responded positively to the proposed regulations, stating that the county will aim to be the first local municipality to launch phase two.

Meanwhile, the Hotel Royal group said it had already begun implementing restrictions on single-use toiletries at its hotels, including the Hotel Royal Beitou in Taipei.

L’Hotel de Chine Group also said that since 2018, the company’s hotels had ceased providing bottled water and no longer actively display single-use items.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel