President Tsai says EPA’s policy on straws ‘not fully mature’

To tackle plastic pollution, the Environmental Protection Administration plans to impose restrictions on plastic straws starting next July, banning them in schools, fast-food restaurants, and government buildings. Asked how consumers would drink bubble milk tea without a straw, an EPA official said it could be done very well with a spoon. President Tsai Ing-wen has told the EPA that its policy was not fully mature and that it needed to communicate the details more clearly to the public.Plastic straws. A ubiquitous sight, provided free with almost every drink sold in Taiwan. The Environmental Protection Administration has plans to change that. Starting July of next year, as part of a campaign to cut plastic waste, straws will be banned from schools, fast-food restaurants, and government offices. Many are cheering on this pollution-cutting measure, but others are wondering how they will drink their favorite beverages.Lee I-hua (June 8)EPA Department of Waste ManagementWith regard to bubble milk tea, it is a fact that you can also use spoons to consume it.This EPA official’s comment has attracted considerable backlash.During Wednesday’s meeting of the DPP’s Central Standing Committee, President Tsai Ing-wen asked the EPA how strawless customers should get at the tapioca balls in a cup of bubble milk tea. Calling the straw policy “not fully mature”, she said the EPA needed to iron out its details and communicate them clearly to the public.It will be a year before the ban comes into effect, but one McDonald’s, located inside National Taiwan University, has already announced that various plastic utensils like the spoons used to stir McFlurries are no longer free, as it strives to live up the school’s green aspirations. As for actual straws, they are still free for now, but it’s best to start the search for an alternative.