Although the export of disposable chopsticks from China to Japan has brought income to some places and created certain employment opportunities, we should also see the problems brought by the industry to China. If an adult tree can produce 10,000 pairs of chopsticks, then China needs at least 2.5 million trees to export more than 20 billion pairs of disposable chopsticks to Japan, and tens of thousands of square kilometers of forests need to be cut down. Different from the "thinning" method adopted by Japan, China's forest harvesting mostly adopts the "one-day illumination" method, which should be said to be destructive harvesting of existing forest resources. Due to the lack of follow-up afforestation, the original renewable forest resources have become disposable resources. This is a great waste of forestry resources in China.
In this way, chopsticks are polished with paraffin wax and put into bags filled with chemical fertilizers, waiting for delivery.
In this way, disposable chopsticks that have not been disinfected by anyone finally appeared in front of us as sterilized tableware.
More and more disposable articles bring convenience to people's lives. But from the point of view of environmental protection, behind this convenience is the waste of a lot of resources and the accumulation of garbage, which brings endless future troubles. According to the survey, there are thousands of enterprises producing wooden chopsticks in China at present, which consume nearly 5 million cubic meters of wood resources every year. China cuts down about 47.58 million cubic meters of trees every year, and these chopsticks account for 65.438+00.5%. In the process of producing chopsticks, the effective utilization rate of wood is 60%, from logs to blocks to finished products.
The raw materials used in regular disposable chopsticks are all wood with good texture and do not need special processing. But now, in order to reduce costs, many small workshops use inferior wood, which looks "black". This less beautiful color will certainly not be favored by consumers. Therefore, disposable chopsticks processed by small workshop producers will soon "transform" and board people's tables angrily.
Solid state is made by sulfur fumigation and bleaching. The sulfur dioxide of chopsticks bleached with sulfur gas will seriously exceed the standard. Therefore, when people eat with these chopsticks, sulfur dioxide can easily solidify into the respiratory tract and cough with the flow of air. Respiratory diseases such as asthma will also follow. In addition, sulfur contains heavy metals, such as mercury/lead, which can accumulate in human body, and long-term accumulation will cause mercury poisoning.
The method of liquid processing chopsticks is to bleach with chlorine or hydrogen peroxide, especially chlorine, which may contain dioxins that once made people talk about color change.
As for bamboo chopsticks, in order to remove the raw edges of chopsticks and make them look smooth and white, producers put chopsticks in talcum powder and process them by friction. Although disposable chopsticks produced by informal manufacturers are very harmful, so far, there is no special hygienic inspection standard for disposable chopsticks in China.
On April 1 1 day and June 12, the departments of industry and commerce, quality supervision, public security and food and drug supervision in Rong 'an County, Liuzhou City, Guangxi Province carried out joint law enforcement actions, investigated and dealt with three enterprises suspected of illegally using industrial sulfur, industrial paraffin, talcum powder and other harmful substances to produce disposable chopsticks, and seized a batch of semi-finished disposable chopsticks containing harmful substances.
Source: the purchase channel becomes a secret
At a disposable chopsticks distribution point in Jiancaoping Small Commodity Wholesale Market, the reporter saw a kind of chopsticks marked with the words "Welcome to use high-grade sanitary chopsticks, high-temperature disinfection, white hygiene", and there was no relevant information such as production date and address on the package. The reporter said that he opened a small restaurant and wanted to buy some chopsticks. "Where did you get the goods?" "They are all from other places. I have no idea where it is. I will sell it when people send it. " The other party replied.
At another distribution point, when the reporter questioned whether the chopsticks were really "disinfected", the other party simply said, "It is a lie to disinfect so many chopsticks."
"Hotels pay attention to brands and basically won't buy them. Those who buy these chopsticks are all small restaurants. " "You can use it. To tell you the truth, I bought the mala Tang shops and rice noodle shops in these nearby streets. " The owner of a disposable chopsticks distribution point in Jiancaoping Small Commodity Wholesale Market said.
Interview: Disposable chopsticks are mostly sold naked.
In the disposable tableware shop, bundles of wooden disposable chopsticks are "naked" in white plastic bags without any packaging, let alone the production date and shelf life. The reporter picked up a pair of chopsticks and smelled it. It's obviously sour. The shopkeeper greeted him and said, "The price is different. The wholesale price of this kind is 1 cent a pair. " The shopkeeper picked up a chopstick that fell to the ground and threw it into the bag.
The reporter learned that disposable chopsticks on the market are mainly made of wood and bamboo. There are three kinds of wooden chopsticks: poplar, poplar and birch. Poplar chopsticks are slightly longer, and the average price is 2 cents/pair. Average selling price of poplar chopsticks 1 cent/pair; The average selling price of birch chopsticks is 1.5 cents/pair. Bamboo chopsticks with packaging but no factory name and production date are 3-6 cents/pair.
Flow direction: Small restaurants are the hardest hit areas.
According to the information disclosed by the dealer, the reporter also visited some small restaurants. During the visit, it was found that small restaurants used disposable chopsticks the most, especially those around schools and villages in the city, which became the hardest hit areas for using disposable chopsticks.
In a rice noodle snack bar, there is a disposable chopstick in each chopsticks box on the dining table for guests to take at will. On closer inspection, most of these chopsticks are unpacked. Even if it is packaged, there is no shelf life on it, just words such as "high temperature disinfection", "clean sanitation" and "disinfection chopsticks" are simply printed on it. In a restaurant called "1: 1 rice" next to a university in the provincial capital, the reporter saw bundles of disposable chopsticks in the chopsticks tube for customers to use. ...
In some small restaurants, the use of disposable chopsticks is very common, and customers rarely bring their own chopsticks to eat. Whether eating breakfast in a small restaurant or a street stall, customers seem to be accustomed to using disposable chopsticks on the table at will, completely forgetting the harm that this kind of chopsticks may bring to themselves.
Chopsticks factory workers: smoked sulfur.
In order to make chopsticks whiter without insects, they actually used industrial sulfur. Industrial sulfur can damage respiratory function.
Chopsticks are smoked for two days.
Industrial sulfur is a chemical raw material, and sulfur dioxide residue will be produced during fumigation. In the polisher, there are not only chopsticks but also white things.
Chopsticks are polished with paraffin wax, simply packaged and put into bags filled with chemical fertilizers for production. The reporter has not seen any disinfection treatment of chopsticks by manufacturers.
When cooking chopsticks blanks, you should turn chopsticks with your feet. Such close contact between feet and chopsticks can be seen everywhere in chopsticks factories, and it is not surprising to see footprints on chopsticks in some factories. During the investigation, the reporter also found a strange phenomenon. Some moldy chopsticks have not been thrown away, and they have to be disposed of. In Hunan, the reporter saw how black chopsticks were boiled white.
Industrial hydrogen peroxide, the scientific name of hydrogen peroxide, has a strong corrosive and bleaching effect. Black chopsticks cooked with industrial hydrogen peroxide turned white. In order to make hydrogen peroxide play a greater role, someone added another chemical raw material to the discarded chopsticks. Industrial hydrogen peroxide impairs digestive function. After these chemical raw materials are processed, disposable chopsticks will produce a variety of chemical residues, which will be harmful to human health if ingested for a long time.
In this way, disposable chopsticks that have not been disinfected by anyone finally appeared in front of us as sterilized tableware. Chopsticks are also put into bags filled with chemical fertilizers and waiting to leave the factory.
Bacterial infection: the shelf life of sterilized disposable chopsticks is as long as 4 months. Once the shelf life has passed, it is likely to bring staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and hepatitis.
Disposable chopsticks may also have a "greenhouse effect", because the vicious circle, fewer trees, carbon dioxide will increase, the atmosphere will become thicker, and the heat will be difficult to disperse, which will produce a "greenhouse effect."