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China Bans Foam Boxes, Encourages Biodegradable Tableware
China is likely to see environmental-friendly throwaway tableware replace the foam plastic containers that have dominated the market so far.
The development of biodegradable containers will greatly benefit the environment in China, a fast-food obsessed country that uses about 26.2 billion pieces of throwaway tableware each year.
The State Economic and Trade Commission (SETC) had announced that all plastic throwaway tableware should have been removed from the market by the end of 2000.
Throwaway tableware has become a great headache for environmental protectors as the foam plastic generates toxic gases when it is incinerated and, if without burning, it takes thousands of years to degrade. And the new degradable tableware are commonly made of paper pulp and wood fiber.
Some 80 percent of the containers used in the country are foam plastic, which brings an annual market demand for 20 billion new biodegradable containers once the foam boxes are phased out, said Dong Jinshi, vice-director of the Packing Resources Utilization Commission under the China Packing Association and an expert on fighting the so-called "white pollution."
The consumption volume of throwaway tableware is expected to reach 100 billion in 10 years with an annual growth rate of 6 percent, said Dong.
Roughly 300 factories are engaged in producing degradable throwaway tableware so far with the annual yield of 3 billion containers, only representing the tip of the consumption iceberg, he added.
The major barrier to domestic development of the biodegradable lunch box sector is cost as a cheapest degradable box cost twice as much as the foam plastic one, he said.
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