The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said yesterday that it will ban the use of food packaging containing polyvinyl chloride (PVC) from November 1 next year.

Secretary-General Xie Helin appreciated this move, but said that the policy should be more ambitious, banning all containers that use PVC.

?Picture provided by the State Environmental Protection Administration

He said that PVC packaging may release plasticizers when used to store liquids, adding that in the production process of widely used synthetic plastic polymers, vinyl chloride may be released-which is related to an increased risk of liver cancer.

He said that building materials are the main area where PVC is used, and wooden furniture is usually coated with this material.

However, Hsieh said that 25% to 40% of the PVC containers and bags produced in the past three years have been in contact with food.

He said that when burned, PVC containers will release dioxins and heavy metals that were added as stabilizers during the production process.

He said that although the incinerator uses filters to capture these materials, the contaminated ashes in the PVC container may still seep into the ground from the landfill.

Hsieh said that using PVC products to store food may lead to ingestion of PVC.

He added that toys containing this material may also be accidentally swallowed by children.

He said a Japanese study showed that when a person wears PVC-containing gloves to prepare a lunch box, the residue of the material may contaminate the food.

Hsieh said the EPA should require companies to add specific labels to PVC products instead of marking them as containing plastic more generally.

Hsieh said that depending on the difficulty of extracting the material, the PVC content of the product should also be considered during the recycling process.

Wei Wenyi, deputy secretary-general of the Environmental Protection Agency's Recycling Fund, said that the Environmental Protection Agency has increased the processing fee to NT$87 per kilogram to prevent packaging manufacturers from using PVC, which has been proven effective.

Wei said that the agency will strive to achieve a PVC-free environment because it is in the public interest.

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