Taiwan EPA Raises Environmental Fee on PVC Packaging by 470% 

Connector Summer 2018

The agency said most PVC packaging is incinerated instead of being recycled.

Late last month, the Environmental Protection Agency of Taiwan announced it is raising the “recycling rate” (environmental fee) on polyvinyl chloride (PVC) packaging from 18.5 yuan/kilogram to 87 yuan/kilogram – a 470% increase.

In Taiwan, packaging producers pay fees for different packaging materials based on the “environmental burden” the materials present. According to the EPA, most PVC is incinerated because it leaves sorting facilities in a relatively impure state. This leads to most waste PVC being incinerated instead of recycled, and the EPA says the incineration of PVC can produce dioxin.

The intended effect of the fee increase is that packaging producers using PVC in Taiwan will consider switching to materials with lower fees such as PET or PE.

Source: Recycling Laws International