New regulations from the Department of Health require that all plastic containers, including water bottles, baby bottles, lunch boxes, and plastic cups, must now be labeled with their material, heat resistance temperature, or cold resistance temperature. The regulations are expected to be announced in March or April of next year and implemented the following year. The Department of Health stated that the new system will be implemented in two phases: in 2012, it will primarily focus on reusable plastic containers; in 2013, it will target disposable plastic containers. Violators will be fined between NT$30,000 and NT$150,000. Cheng Wei-chih, head of the Food and Drug Administration's Food and Drug Administration's Food and Drug Hygiene Section, explained that there are many different materials used in plastic containers on the market, each with different properties, heat resistance, and cold resistance. Consumers often don't understand these differences and easily use them incorrectly. The most common example is the ice cream cups used for Slurpees or the transparent cups for iced coffee takeout from coffee shops, which people are reluctant to throw away after use and reuse to hold hot water. In fact, transparent cold drink cups are made of polylactic acid (PLA), which has a heat resistance of only 50 degrees Celsius. Many microwave-safe containers are made of polypropylene (PP), which can withstand temperatures up to 100 degrees Celsius and is microwaveable, but the lids are made of polystyrene (PS), which has a maximum heat resistance of only 90 degrees Celsius and is therefore unsuitable for microwaving. Three-in-one coffee paper cups also have an inner layer of PE film (polyethylene). If it's high-density PE film, it can withstand temperatures up to 110 degrees Celsius, making it suitable for holding hot water; however, if it's low-density PE film, it can only withstand temperatures up to 90 degrees Celsius, making it unsuitable for holding very hot water. Furthermore, disposable plastic cups also come in different materials. If they are made of polystyrene (PS),...
