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SZ declares war on white pollution
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THE other night, Vivian and Nellie, two newspaper editors, were doing overtime in their office on the 37th floor in one of the many high-rises of Shenzhen.Vivian called a near-by restaurant and in less than 10 minutes, their supper was delivered to the office.
After the meal, Vivian told Nellie not to forget to punch holes on the take-out hinged-
lid polystyrene (PS) foam containers with chopsticks. She heard that some rotten businessmen would wash these disposable containers clean and reuse them. However, Vivian may not be well aware of the fact that these little white containers which have made life easier for many people in this busy city can still harm our health and the environment even if they are crushed into small pieces.
In Shenzhen, it's hard to find anyone that has never used these foam containers. Even the most health-conscious persons who refuse to eat take-out food have great chances of using them: when they eat out, the leftovers are usually brought home in these containers.
It's estimated that the city consumes up to one million PS foam containers a day.
As more Shenzheners work longer and want to have more time for rest and entertainment, a take-out market is growing rapidly with the large consumption of disposable foodservice packaging. When composted, these white containers causes “ white pollution".
The hazard
PS foam containers, plastic bags and tableware became popular only a few years ago because they are cheap and convenient. Being non-bio-
degradable and usually reprocessed from used plastic, they carry a great deal of patho-genic bacteria and are harmful to people's health.
Medical experts point out that poisonous substances in these containers would exude into the food or drink if the temperatures is over 65 degrees centigrade as most Chinese would like to take hot meals. This harm can cause malfunction in reproductive organs and central nervous system.
As for the environment, these materials aren't bio-
degradable and mixed in soil, will significantly reduce the farm production. Many countries have curbed the production and sale of them to eliminate the so-called “ white pollution".
The decree
In January 1999, the Central Government decreed that the production and sale of the disposable PS foam tableware must be eliminated before December 31, 2000.
In October, a meeting was held in Beijing to discuss the replacement product for the disposable tableware. Pan Beilei, a leading official with the State Bureau of Light Industry, said that China's production of plastic products ranked fourth in the world and plastic products are widely used in almost every aspect of people's life.
Every year, nearly 10 billion pieces of disposable tableware are sold around the country, 80 per cent of which are made from PS foam.
The replacement
With the decree in effect, consumers, restaurants and cafeterias are called on to switch to other foodservice packaging made of starch, post-consumer recycled fiber (which does not require the cutting of trees) or plant fibre which is performance competitive and provides important environmental advantages. Plates, bowls, cups and hinged-lid containers made of these new materials greatly reduce risks to the environment because they biodegrade when exposed to moisture in nature when crushed or broken and can be safely composted in commercial facilities.
The difficulty
As a young city which aspires to build itself into an up-to-date metropolis,Shenzhen spends huge sum of money every year trying to keep its environment clean while its economy is surging ahead. The residents, many of whom are better educated, have a heightened awareness for the environmental protection. However, the curb of PS foam packaging seems to lack momentum compared with other cities in the nation.
Mao Guoqing, an official with the law and regulation division of the Shenzhen Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau (EPB), said the city's huge consumption volume of disposable food containers makes the curbing especially difficult: “ Another problem is that the disposable foodservice packaging and wraps concern almost everybody in the city from the families, to restaurants, cafeterias and canteens in department agencies and enterprises. Any hasty decision can cause great inconvenience."
Another serious concern, according to Zhao Hua, of the energy division of the EPB concern, is the fact that many replacements, designed with the environmental protection in mind, appear to be not cost and performance competitive. “ Years ago, when the development of these substitutes was still in the early stage, the performances in water and oil proofing and the resistance to high temperature weren't so satisfactory that people would worry that the substitutes couldn't live up to expectations. The high cost, sometimes two times of the PS foam, make business owners hesitate to switch to these environmental friendly products."
However, Zhao pointed out that at present the performance of many of the substitutes is up to the standard and the price is also reduced greatly. According to Zhao and her colleagues'investigation, there are a few hundred factories around the nation and four in SZ producing the substitutes.
Maybe the biggest obstacle for the city in the drive to curb white pollution is to make sure which government department will be responsible for the enforcement of this decree. For this question, even Zhao Hua didn't have the answer.
Co-ordination
Two years ago, many deputies to the Shenzhen Municipal People's Congress and members of the Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference had on various occasion urged to forbid the disposable containers which are not biodegradable. For various reasons, these suggestions were put on the shelf.
In November, as December 31, the central government's deadline for curbing these containers was drawing near, Vice-Mayor Wang Suiming asked the city's Economic Development Bureau, Trade Development Bureau, Municipal Administration for Industry and Commerce (MAIC) and Technological Supervision Bureau (TSB) to work out a solution.
In early December, the above four government agencies sat down together with the EPB to discuss the issue.
Liao, from the market division of the MAIC, said if the Municipal Government announces the ban, the administration is going to toughen its stance on the issue. Anyone who continues to produce or sell these containers will be suspended or the business licence will be revoked, Liao said.
Tan Liang of the TSB said the punishment could be very severe for those who violate the decree. For example, a store that is found to sell 50 000 yuan worth of PS foam containers will get a fine of the same amount.
The TSB and MAIC are responsible for the check on the market and the production of these containers. The EPB and the Urban Management Department will watch the hotels, restaurants and cafeterias. Insiders say that the job will be harder in areas outside the special economic zone for the time being.
A long way
On the first day of 2001, a cafeteria in one of the well-
known theme parks in the
Overseas Chinese Town area, was still offering its customers hot noodles in PS foam containers.
The owner of the cafe said that he did hear something about the prohibition, but the replacement cost over 0.20 yuan a piece while the PS foam container was only 0.05 yuan. He admitted he was really not enthusiastic about switching to environmentally friendly yet costlier products.
In Wal-Mart's Sam's Club, some of the processed food was packaged in CT (Chuo Talc) containers made from biodegradable plastic and talcum powder by Chuo Kagaku, a Japanese firm manufacturing in nearby Dongguan.
Insiders believe the city still has a long way to go to wipe out the white pollution.
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