TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Hypermarket chain RT-Mart announced on Wednesday that as part of efforts to promote environmental protection, beginning on July 1, it will stop selling plastic shopping bags at its 22 stores around Taiwan. Kuo Chien-chi (郭建志), a publicist for the hypermarket chain, said the company calculated that people in Taiwan use and dispose of 18 billion plastic bags a year. With that in mind, RT-Mart has decided to stop stocking its stores with plastic bags effective immediately and as of July 1 such bags will no longer be sold at cashier counters. For the moment, plastic bags will still be available but cashiers will not take the initiative in selling them. Consumers will be advised to purchase environment-friendly shopping bags if they need a bag, he added.

Source: The China Post May 31, 2017 09:00 UTC