The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) aims to ban the use of Styrofoam cups in Taiwan completely by the end of this year.
The EPA has mapped out draft measures to restrict the use of expanded foam plastic for drink containers such as Styrofoam cups. More than 200 million Styrofoam cups are used every year but only around 20% of that number are recycled.
The EPA said on Saturday that the popular material is not easily disintegrated by the environment so it damages landscapes and causes pollution. The EPA also said the material poses a threat to marine and even human life. Ocean animals may consume pieces of discarded Styrofoam, causing a hazard to people who consume seafood.
The EPA said there will be a grace period after the ban goes into effect. It said it expects about 2,000 beverage shops and 10 Styrofoam manufacturers to be affected.
Once that period is up, any violators of the ban will be fined and ordered to make improvement, while serious violators could see their shops shut down.