Taiwan currently uses about 187,000 reusable cups every year according to a Greenpeace report. (Photo: CNA)
The environmental group Greenpeace released its first report on the benefits of reusable beverage cups on Tuesday. The report shows that Taiwan currently uses about 187,000 reusable cups every year. According to the Environment Ministry, Taiwan uses 4 billion disposable cups annually. The ministry has been promoting the use of reusable cups since January 1 and requires at least 5% of convenience store chains and fast food chains to provide reusable cup lending services.
Chang Kai-ting (張凱婷) from Greenpeace says that compared with disposable cups, reusable cups can reduce carbon emissions by 25%, as well as water consumption and air pollution by around 36%. Chang says that replacing all 4 billion disposable cups used each year with reusable ones could reduce carbon emissions by 58,000 tons, equivalent to removing the emissions of 240,000 motorcycles from Taiwan’s roads every year.
Chang calls on the government and businesses to speed up the expansion of reusable cup services in various places such as sports events, stadiums, cinemas, chain restaurants, and beverage shops. The aim is to achieve a 50% reuse rate by 2030.
