To strengthen the management of enterprises responsible for paper tableware and bring unregistered paper tableware enterprises under government control, the EPA amended the Responsible Enterprise Regulated Recyclable Waste Management Regulations to require paper tableware to be marked with a QR code issued by the EPA to trace manufacturer and importer information. Existing enterprises responsible for paper tableware responsible enterprises of paper tableware are to complete the labeling within three months after the announced implementation date, while newly registered responsible enterprises should complete the labeling within two months after completing registration.

The EPA said that due to the occurrence of COVID-19 in 2020, the demand for take-away paper tableware has increased, which in turn has increased the number of enterprises responsible for paper tableware. Responsible enterprises that have not registered in accordance with the regulations or that have not paid the recycling and disposal fees for the paper tableware they have produced, seriously affect the operation of the existing paper container recycling system. Consequently, to strengthen the management of unregistered paper tableware enterprises, those that manufacture and import flat paper containers are required to label their products with a unique QR code issued by the EPA. This allows citizens or environmental protection bureau inspectors to link the products to the website set up by the EPA upon scanning the QR code, where the source of the products and information such as legitimately registered responsible enterprises are shown, to enable determination of whether the products are manufactured or imported by legitimately registered enterprises.

The EPA reminded existing responsible enterprises that they are to complete the labeling within three months after the announced implementation date, while newly registered responsible enterprises should complete the labeling within two months after registration. As for unlabeled stocked products that were produced before the announcement and have yet to be moved, enterprises should declare the inventory to the competent authority where they registered within two months after the announcement, and sell them within six months, but may apply for an extension of up to one year to clear their inventory.

Excerpt from Major Environmental Policies, May 2022

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