20 million mature trees are logged annually for no other purpose other than to provide China alone with disposable chopsticks. That doesn't even take into account the chopsticks used by other countries throughout Asia.
In a report released earlier this year, the head of a major forestry group in China disclosed that the country goes through at least 80 billion pairs of disposable chopsticks a year. A mature, 20-year-old tree can be whittled down to roughly 4,000 chopsticks.
Every 60 seconds day and night, 38 mature trees are harvested just to produce enough chopsticks for one country.
What's worse is that not all wood comes clean and white; harsh chemicals are used to bleach the wood so that all chopsticks look similar -- another good reason not to nibble on the ends or suck sauce from your chopsticks.
China’s disposable chopstick addiction is destroying its forests - The Washington Post
In a report released earlier this year, the head of a major forestry group in China disclosed that the country goes through at least 80 billion pairs of disposable chopsticks a year. A mature, 20-year-old tree can be whittled down to roughly 4,000 chopsticks.
Every 60 seconds day and night, 38 mature trees are harvested just to produce enough chopsticks for one country.
What's worse is that not all wood comes clean and white; harsh chemicals are used to bleach the wood so that all chopsticks look similar -- another good reason not to nibble on the ends or suck sauce from your chopsticks.
China’s disposable chopstick addiction is destroying its forests - The Washington Post