10 new offshore water dispensers relieve Taiwan island of using PET bottles

10台新的離岸飲水機減輕小琉球使用塑膠瓶的速度

In less than a month, 10 public water dispensers on the island have saved a total of more than 100,000 600ml PET bottles


TAIPEI (Taiwan News)—Taiwan’s Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) said it put ten public water dispensers into use on the island of Little Liuqiu less than a month ago, and the environmentally friendly measure has brought a remarkable benefit to the tourist-centric small island off the southwestern coast of Taiwan.

The EPA said the water dispensers were installed at nine public places across the island, including Baisha Tourist Harbor, tourist attractions, shuttle boat waiting areas, and Inspection Offices.

The agency has released a QR code for easy access to a map of the 10 water dispensers, along with information about their water quality inspections that includes: coliform groups, inspection dates, units conducting the inspections, and units responsible for the maintenance and management.

According to the EPA, each of the public water dispensers has a real-time counter to show how many PET bottles the machine has saved. In less than a month, the ten water dispensers have eliminated the equivalent of more than 100,000 600ml PET bottles and cut down 1,500 kilograms of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Among Taiwan’s offshore islands, Little Liuqiu is the only island formed by coral reefs, and it boasts the world's highest density of green sea turtles in its waters, the agency said, urging tourists to bring their own cups to help cut down on the use of one-time plastic wares while visiting the island and to protect its environment.



(photo courtesy of the EPA)