A Chinese food association has called for an end to the use of disposable chopsticks in China as part of the campaign for a “green” Olympics, saying 45 billion pairs were thrown away every year.
About 25 million trees are used to make disposable wooden chopsticks, China Cuisine Association secretary general Bian Jiang said in comments carried by the state-run China Daily newspaper Friday.
The vast majority are used in restaurants.
“That’s a heavy blow to the country’s dwindling forests,” he was quoted as saying.
“In the run-up to the Olympics, the catering industry should not ignore the green call from the (Games) organizing committee for no disposable tableware to be used during the grand feast of national pride.”
Bian stressed that it should not be a temporary measure for the Olympics.
“Restaurant owners and patrons should (permanently) abandon the use of disposable chopsticks for the good of their health and the environment,” the”China Daily paraphrased him as saying.
Beijing pledged when it made its winning bid to host the 2008 Games that it would be an environmentally friendly event.
To honor its commitment, many Games venues will employ state-of-the-art technology to ensure maximum energy efficiency.
Wind and solar power are also being used to meet some of the venues’ energy needs, while many trees are being planted, parks built and recycled waste systems introduced.
However, ending the use of chopsticks nationally was not an official part of Beijing’s campaign to host the Games.
Concern over wooden chopsticks has filtered in and out of public consciousness for years in China.
They remain popular because restaurant diners prefer new chopsticks, often wrapped in plastic, rather than ones that have been used by previous customers and washed to unknown hygienic standards.
The government slapped a five percent consumption tax on disposable chopsticks in April last year in an effort to discourage their use.
A delegate to the National People’s Congress, China’s rubber-stamp parliament, also made headlines when she submitted a proposal in 2005 to ban disposable wooden chopsticks. AFP