TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — One of Taiwan’s major convenience chains, 7-Eleven, announced it will stop providing free takeout and coffee carriers starting Wednesday (Oct. 12).

At present, disposable, non-woven fabric-made holders for coffee and microwaved meals are offered free. However, amid rising environmental awareness and the company’s waste-reduction initiative, they will no longer be available at the chain’s 6,500 stores across Taiwan after stock runs out.

Customers are encouraged to bring their own reusable shopping bags and containers. They can still ask for more durable types of meal and cup carriers but will have to pay for them, per UDN.

It is estimated that the measure will help reduce 354 tons of plastic per year, amounting to 711 tons of carbon dioxide emissions, wrote CNA.

The convenience store giant led local retailers in halting the practice of giving away plastic straws in 2019, which cut the waste of 450 million straws per year. Earlier this year, it installed a PET bottle recycling machine at the branch on Orchid Island, or Lanyu, in a move to promote low-plastic travel and the protection of the oceans.

Already, 7-Eleven has joined the government-led campaign to reward customers NT$5 (US$0.16) to NT$7 for buying drinks with their own cups. The company said it has gone a step further by designing a new type of plastic bag that uses 10% fewer materials and redesigning packaging materials for over 20 food items that reduce plastic use 45%.