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Taiwan: a four-arrow emblem, not a US resin triangle
Article 19 of the Waste Disposal Act requires designated responsible enterprises to mark articles or their packaging and containers with the official recycling labels. The 1 July 2025 announcement keeps the four-arrow emblem in force for regulated containers and adds a material-code-only duty on plastic liners and blisters from 1 July 2027. Marks are monochrome. Export-only products are out. A US SPI chasing-arrows triangle does not satisfy Article 19.
Marks are shown for identification, research and commentary. Use the current MOENV announcement drawings (附圖一–三) for production artwork. Colour is not prescribed, but both the emblem and the resin code must be monochrome (單色).
The question this report answers
Waste Disposal Act Article 19, first paragraph, requires a responsible enterprise designated and officially announced by the central competent authority to mark articles or their packaging and containers with relevant recycling labels. The same article assigns to the ministry the power to determine the scope of enterprises, the size of label designs, location and other binding matters. The current implementing instrument is the announcement titled “Scope of responsible enterprises that shall mark recycling-related labels on articles or containers, label design size, location and other matters to be complied with” (法規 id GL006135), last amended by 環部循字第1146111613號 on 1 July 2025 (民國 114 年 7 月 1 日). The original announcement dates from 9 January 2004.
Regulated container goods carry Taiwan’s official four-arrow container recycling emblem (容器回收標誌), conspicuously on the container, packaging or label. Regulated plastic containers also carry the plastic material recycling identification code in Appendix II (the 1–7 resin series). The announcement is explicit that the emblem and the code “are not limited in colour, but shall be monochrome” (不限定顏色，但應為單色). Bio-plastic codes sit in an equilateral triangle with a side of at least 1.5 cm and the English abbreviation below; that millimetre floor is bio-plastic only. Ordinary 1–7 codes have no millimetre lock-up; they must be conspicuous. Manufacturers and importers generally have three months after Article 16 registration to apply the marks. Products supplied for export are excluded. Article 51 fines for Article 19 breaches run from NT$60,000 to NT$300,000, with orders to improve, daily penalties and possible business suspension in severe cases.
Legal status at a glance
| Requirement | Status | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Container recycling emblem | mandatory for designated enterprises | Official four-arrow emblem, conspicuous on the regulated container, packaging or label. Not a generic Möbius loop and not an SPI triangle. Monochrome. |
| Plastic material identification code | mandatory for regulated plastic containers | Appendix II 1–7 code accompanying the emblem. Non-plastic materials do not take this code. Monochrome; conspicuous. No millimetre floor except bio-plastic. |
| Bio-plastic code | mandatory if bio-plastic | Equilateral triangle, side at least 1.5 cm, English abbreviation below the drawing. This 1.5 cm rule is bio-plastic only. |
| Plastic liners and blisters | applies 1 July 2027 | Material-code only. The four-arrow emblem is never required on the liner or blister. Already-registered enterprises: finish by 30 September 2027. Exempt: medicines, health foods, medical-device packaging. |
| Export-only products | exempt | Covered container products, flat packaging and non-flat disposable utensils supplied for export are outside the announcement. |
| SPI chasing-arrows as the sole mark | does not satisfy | The US resin triangle is a different mark. Taiwan’s emblem and Appendix II code are the duty. |
Who is designated, and what the emblem is
Designated enterprises include Article 16-registered manufacturers of container commodities (excluding pesticides and specified environmental-hygiene drugs), manufacturers of flat packaging or non-flat disposable utensils, and the corresponding importers, including bio-plastic versions. Labelling is due within three months after registration. Importers mark items they sell, gift or promote. The obligation attaches to the responsible enterprise, not to every downstream retailer. Registration and payment of recycling, clearance and disposal fees are a separate Article 16 architecture; paying the fee does not replace the emblem.
Placement for container commodities is the container, packaging or label — conspicuous, not a free choice of the reverse panel if a conspicuous position is available. Flat packaging and non-flat disposable utensils take the marks on the body, packaging or label. Colour may be any single colour; multi-colour or screened versions of the emblem fail the 單色 test. “Single colour” is not a prescribed pantone; it is a prohibition on multi-colour fills. Apart from the 1.5 cm bio-plastic triangle, the announcement does not set a millimetre lock-up for the four-arrow emblem. “Conspicuous” (顯著標示) is the legal test. Identity of the official drawing in 附圖一 controls: four arrows, not three, not the SPI triangle, not a house Möbius. Appendix II drawings (附圖二) are the resin-code family. Ordinary PET/HDPE/PVC/LDPE/PP/PS/Other codes sit with the numeral; they do not inherit the 1.5 cm bio-plastic floor. Applying a 1.5 cm triangle to fossil PET because “Taiwan likes triangles” is a misread. The emblem indicates participation in Taiwan’s regulated recycling system for that designated article. It is not a claim that the pack is recyclable in every municipality, and it is not a licence to add “green” or “eco” copy.
Liners and blisters — material code only, from 2027
The 1 July 2025 amendment is the instrument that brings plastic liners (襯墊) and blisters (泡殼) into the material-code duty. The ministry’s English press release of the same date states that the code requirement is effective 1 July 2027, that enterprises already registered before that effective date must complete labelling by 30 September 2027, and that newly registered enterprises after 1 July 2027 complete labelling from the day following three full months after registration. The Chinese announcement’s special clock for enterprises registered between 1 July 2025 and 30 June 2027 (民國 114 年 7 月 1 日至 116 年 6 月 30 日) is the same backstop: 至遲應於一百十六年九月三十日前 — by 30 September 2027 at latest.
Unpackaged liners and blisters: the plastic material identification code goes on the body. Imported goods that contain a liner or blister: the code goes on the liner/blister body, or on the product’s packaging or label. If the importer puts the code on the outer pack or a label, 附圖三 requires a note identifying which component (liner, blister, container, film) the code refers to. A QR code is not a substitute. The four-arrow emblem is not part of this duty. The announcement states, without qualification, that plastic liners or blisters are exempt from labelling the container recycling emblem. Printing the emblem on the liner “to be safe” is not the duty. Pharmaceutical, health-food and medical-device packaging is exempt from the liner/blister material code because changing that packaging can trigger Ministry of Health and Welfare stability and approval work; the ministry’s 1 July 2025 press release gives that public-health rationale on its face.
Article 51 of the Waste Disposal Act is the penalty article for Article 19 breaches: NT$60,000 to NT$300,000, orders to improve within a time limit, consecutive daily fines for failure to improve, and possible suspension of business in severe cases. The Chinese consolidation on laws.moj.gov.tw controls over English restatements. Dual-market SKUs sold in Taiwan are in; export-only SKUs are out.
Primary sources and verification
Taiwan. Waste Disposal Act, Article 19. laws.moj.gov.tw Art. 19 · MOENV English
Taiwan. Waste Disposal Act, Article 51 (penalties). laws.moj.gov.tw Art. 51
Taiwan. Waste Disposal Act, full consolidation. laws.moj.gov.tw
Taiwan. Announcement GL006135, scope, size, location and other matters (amended 1 July 2025). MOENV
Ministry of Environment. Press release on liner and blister material codes (1 July 2025). MOENV English
Taiwan. Container recycling programme. recycle.moenv.gov.tw
The Chinese announcement controls over English restatements. Last verified: 21 August 2026.