Beijing students are building a "disposable chopstick forest" to raise public awareness of deforestation in this way.
Ozawa Keiko's work "Waribashi" (meaning sanitary chopsticks in Japanese) was created using disposable chopsticks.
A man in a restaurant in Beijing is eating noodles with disposable chopsticks.
Chopsticks are a symbol of Asian food culture, but the mass production of disposable chopsticks has also caused great damage to the forest, further exacerbating climate change. According to a 2008 report by the United Nations, the area of forests that disappear in Asia each year amounts to 10,800 square miles (about 27,900 square kilometers), and many of these trees have been reduced to disposable chopsticks. There is no doubt that disposable chopsticks have become a major culprit in reducing forest area.
China produces 57 billion pairs of disposable chopsticks each year
Chopsticks are the most important tableware in most Asian countries. Compared with other Asian countries, Japan and China are more inclined to use disposable chopsticks. In China, small restaurants prefer disposable chopsticks, while larger restaurants use more plastic chopsticks. Disposable chopsticks are also found everywhere in Japan. In sushi restaurants in New York or London, you may use disposable wooden chopsticks. If it is a Vietnamese restaurant, it may be plastic chopsticks. Korean restaurants tend to use metal chopsticks.
According to figures provided by the State Forestry Administration of China, the number of disposable chopsticks produced in China each year is as high as 57 billion pairs, which is equivalent to cutting 3.8 million trees. About 45% of disposable chopsticks are made of poplar, birch or spruce, and the rest are made of bamboo. It can be said that disposable chopsticks have become a major culprit in reducing the forest area. Half of the chopsticks produced in China are used in the country, and the other half are exported to Japan, 21% to South Korea, and 2% to the United States.
The production of disposable chopsticks has led to "innocent" deforestation in large areas. According to a 2008 report by the United Nations, the area of forests lost in Asia reaches 10,800 square miles per year (about 27,900 square kilometers). If climate change is to be curbed, this trend must be "stopped", as trees play an important role in absorbing carbon dioxide.
Asia begins to promote the use of portable chopsticks
Activists point out that everyone must work together to gradually get rid of the use of disposable chopsticks. At present, many stores in Asia are selling soft or hardcover chopsticks. These chopsticks can be put in small bags, backpacks or briefcases and are easy to carry. In China, organizations such as the Greenpeace East Asia branch are taking action to increase public awareness of the issue of disposable chopsticks. In December 2010, 200 students from 20 universities in China collected 82,000 pairs of disposable chopsticks from restaurants in Beijing, and then used these chopsticks to build 4 trees, each 16 feet high ) To form a mini "disposable chopstick forest".
In addition, they took to the bustling Beijing pedestrian street and invited 40,000 pedestrians to sign a petition to resist disposable chopsticks.
Countries begin to pay attention to the issue of disposable chopsticks
Some American artists also pay attention to the issue of disposable chopsticks in their own way. San Francisco artist Keiko Ozawa collected 170,000 used disposable chopsticks to create abstract works. "Japanese restaurants especially like to use disposable chopsticks, and do not compost or recycle used disposable chopsticks," she said.
In 2007, China began levying taxes on disposable wooden chopsticks to protect the environment. With the introduction of this policy, Japan began to import chopsticks more from other countries such as Vietnam, Indonesia, and Russia, rather than opt-out. It is worth mentioning that Japan has one of the highest forest cover countries in the world, reaching 69%. In addition, Japan is also a country that attaches great importance to garbage collection. Restaurants often prepare multiple garbage bins to carefully sort garbage.
It is puzzling why such a country is obsessed with disposable chopsticks. Cost is obviously not a factor. In Japan, reusable chopsticks sell for $ 1.17 each. Because they can be reused, they cost less than disposable chopsticks. Reusable chopsticks can be used about 130 times. Disposable chopsticks cost about 2 cents, and 130 pairs cost about $ 2.6, which is obviously higher than reusable chopsticks.
Some customers may be reluctant to choose reusable chopsticks because of concerns about unsanitary conditions. "Greenpeace" pointed out that, in addition to being harmful to the environment, disposable chopsticks also pose a potential threat to consumers' health. In China, although product standards are in place, supervision is sometimes inadequate, especially for small factories. According to Chinese media reports, some small factories producing disposable chopsticks actually use industrial sulfur, paraffin, hydrogen peroxide, pesticides, and other harmful chemicals during processing. Paraffin is a carcinogen and hydrogen peroxide can damage the digestive system. Discarding used chopsticks at will can contaminate water and reduce soil quality.
Japan has not yet resolved this issue through legislative means, but there have also been some pleasing changes. At present, some restaurants are starting to provide plastic chopsticks, but they are also preparing disposable chopsticks so that guests can make such requests. At convenience stores throughout Japan, clerks ask customers if they need disposable chopsticks, instead of putting chopsticks in checkout bags by default. In addition, some restaurants offer discounts for customers who bring their own tableware or provide a free cup of tea.
In China, 2,000 Beijing and Guangzhou restaurants have abandoned wooden chopsticks, and a restaurant website has said that restaurants it works with using reusable chopsticks. In 2010, the Chinese government issued a notice encouraging restaurants to provide reusable chopsticks, but Greenpeace said the notice did not mention measures to achieve this goal. Ai Zhong Li, a spokesman for Greenpeace, said: "More and more college students and white-collar workers bring their own chopsticks while dining. This is a positive phenomenon, but the problem of disposable chopsticks is still very serious."