China's 80 billion disposable chopsticks a 'burden' on forests

Bo Guangxin, chairman of state-owned timber firm Jilin Forest Industry, said at a meeting of the annual parliament session on Friday that the mass production of the wooden tableware is a heavy burden on national forests.

Reading Time:1 minute

Jilin Forest Industry's chief blames people's eating habits for the mass production of disposable chopsticks. Photo: AP

Published: 2:43pm, 11 Mar 2013Updated: 3:41pm, 11 Mar 2013

A National People’s Congress member has highlighted the dire situation of China's deforestation during a parliamentary meeting, saying that the country produces as many as 80 billion pairs of disposable chopsticks each year, state news agency Xinhua reported.

Bo Guangxin, chairman of state-owned timber firm Jilin Forest Industry, said at a meeting of the annual parliament session on Friday that the mass production of the wooden tableware is a heavy burden on national forests.

Eighty billion pairs of chopsticks is no small figure.

Laid out, that many chopsticks can cover the ground of Beijing's Tiananmen Square, one of the world's largest public squares, more than 360 times - with each chopstick being 1cm-by-0.5cm and 20cm long, Bo said.

A total of “20 million 20-year-old trees” have to be chopped down each year to make way for the annual production, he said.

According to the latest available forest survey by the State Forestry Administration in 2009, China’s forest coverage was 20.36 per cent and ranked 139th place in the world. The average per capita forest coverage was 0.145 hectares, less than one-fourth of the world’s average.

Select Voice

Choose your listening speed

Get through articles 2x faster

1.25x

250 WPM

Slow

Average

Fast

00:0000:00

1.25x