The EPA has stipulated that chain convenience stores and fast food restaurants are to provide rental service of reusable cups, starting 1 January 2023. Along with this initiative, an event was held in November 2022 for the public to vote for the best design of reusable cup logo, and the winning one would be used starting 1 January 2023. In the future, stores following all the guidelines and regulations will be able to receive this logo, indicating an excellent reusable cup rental service is available. With this logo, consumers can easily take advantage of this service.

As the reusable cup rental is ready for launch, the design of its own logo has also been selected and determined and will be included in the Guidelines of the Excellent Reusable Cup Service as part of the labeling system. People now can easily locate and utilize this service by identifying the logo with zero worries on cleaning!

The EPA thanked the participating enterprises and all local environmental bureaus for their support of the reusable cup policy. Prior to the service being kick-started in 2023, 20 local environmental bureaus had already run trial services in advance, and a total of 833 stores and premises in 16 counties and cities have installed rental stations and are already operating. Among these enterprises, 7-11, MOS Burger, McDonald’s, and Kentucky Fried Chicken had already been approved for the use of the logo back in December 2022. Now that the service to rent reusable cups is available, people have another option besides bringing their own beverage cups.

Plastic and waste reduction is the mutual goal and trend of all nations. To achieve it, in Germany restaurants and dining venues offering take-out service are required to offer rental service of reusable containers starting 2023, while there are private rental service of reusable cups in other countries as well. From 1 January 2023, chain convenience stores and fast-food restaurants in Taiwan are mandated to provide rental service of reusable cups in at least 5% of their stores. The percentage will be increased to 10% in 2024 and 30% in 2025, allowing more convenient and available access to this service.

The EPA-formulated Guidelines of the Excellent Reusable Cup Service cover six areas concerning the service, such as materials and labeling, borrowing and return, cleaning, inspection, awareness communication, and excellent service logo, all of which aim to ensure the sanitation and quality of the service system.

Once again, the EPA stressed that only through joint efforts of the government, enterprises, and the public to reduce garbage with changes of lifestyle and consumption behaviors can environmental improved become actualized. With the continuous push for bringing beverage cups, consumers now can choose to rent reusable cups and help protect the environment even when they forget to bring their own cups.

Excerpt from Major Environmental Policies, December 2022