During the "meal time" of a restaurant, the counter is filled with takeaways waiting to be "departed" Photographed by intern Huang Jiating

The scale of the Internet catering market has doubled, and the pollution problem of disposable tableware has also become very serious. It is reported that China's two major food delivery platforms, Meituan and Ele.me, have launched the "Qingshan Plan" and "Blue Planet Plan" environmental protection plans respectively. However, some people believe that the role of food delivery platforms in dealing with the problem of takeaway garbage is limited, and it is necessary to add catering companies, disposable tableware manufacturers, and consumers. Everyone should share the corresponding responsibilities to improve the environmental problems brought by takeaway boxes.

Big data shows that 3 out of every 10 Chinese are takeaway users, and more than 20 million takeaways can be generated every day. In the next ten years, the socialization, intensification, and industrialization of kitchens will have great development, and the pollution problem of disposable tableware will also be fierce.

Survey

How much takeaway garbage is generated every day

Around 11:30 am, the takeaway deliveryman Xiao Liu hurried into a commercial building in Wudaokou. He didn't have time to wait for the elevator, so he chose to climb the stairs to the food stall on the third floor to pick up the food. At this time, in the stairwell leading to the food stall, there were already many takeaway guys running up and down like shooting stars chasing the moon. The atmosphere was quite tense. Those who ran up held mobile phones in their hands, and those who ran down carried all kinds of takeaways in their hands, including fried chicken, rice noodles, fried cakes, rice bowls...

The peak period of takeaway delivery is called "Fankou" by the takeaway guys. In a takeaway hotspot - a university campus, during the "Fankou" period, a takeaway guy can deliver 4 to 5 times, and the number of orders for one delivery is about 4 to 5. In terms of takeaway restaurants, according to the observation of Beijing Youth Daily reporters, taking rice noodle takeaway as an example, the order volume ranges from 16 to 25 during the "meal time". The standard package includes a pair of chopsticks, a plastic spoon, a plastic round bowl, a plastic round bowl cover, and a plastic bag. If the user's order requires soy sauce, vinegar or chili, 3 to 5 plastic bags will be generated. According to the statistics of standard orders, a rice noodle takeaway store will generate 16 to 25 meal box garbage at a "meal time".

In this food stall, a total of 14 merchants gathered, and the order volume of each store ranged from about 20 to 50. Taking 3 standard meal boxes per store as an example, the number of fast food meal boxes generated by this food stall at a "meal time" is 840 to 2,100.

In comparison, the number of takeaways from large chain restaurants is even more impressive. According to the owner of a chain restaurant that mainly sells Northwest cuisine, "We have about 4.4 million takeout orders a year. If we calculate that one order uses four boxes, we should use 17 million boxes a year." The owner admitted that for restaurants, the most important thing is how to ensure that the takeout is delivered to customers within 25 minutes to an hour, and that the color, aroma, taste and shape of the dish remain basically unchanged from when it was cooked. "We have also tried paper boxes," he said, "but Chinese food is particularly rich and complex. If it is soupy or watery, the paper box will basically permeate after a few minutes, and it cannot be achieved in an hour." According to data released by Xinhua News Agency: China has more than 20 million takeouts every day. However, the amount of garbage generated is also worrying. The used boxes are stacked up enough to travel from the earth to the International Space Station three and a half times, and plastic bags can cover 168 football fields.

Current situation

The rapid development of takeout has brought about garbage problems

According to the data of the "China Plastic Products Industry Production, Sales, Demand and Investment Forecast Analysis Report", from January to May 2017, the cumulative output of plastic products in China was 30.47 million tons, a cumulative increase of 3.8%. The growth of plastic products is inseparable from the rise and development of emerging industries such as takeout. At the "Takeout Food Packaging Safety and Environmental Protection Seminar" held recently, Zhou Lili, a senior engineer of the General Business Department of the China Plastics Processing Industry Association, introduced that plastic products account for a large proportion of disposable tableware. China's current total amount of disposable tableware plastic belongs to a large consumer group in the world. But in fact, if calculated per capita, we are not the largest consumer, and the United States should be the largest consumer.

How big is the Chinese takeout market? Just look at the data released by the two major takeout platforms.

Meituan Dianping's big data shows that China's food delivery industry developed rapidly in 2016: in 2016, the overall transaction volume of the food delivery industry reached 130 billion yuan, and it is expected to exceed 200 billion yuan in 2017 and reach 300 billion yuan in 2018. From the user dimension, 3 out of every 10 Chinese are food delivery users. Ele.me expects that the food delivery market will exceed 700 billion yuan in 2020.

According to analysis, the primary reasons why Chinese users choose online food delivery are that they are too busy at work to cook, they are unwilling to cook at home, food delivery has discounts, food delivery has delicious food, the weather is bad, and it has become a lifestyle habit. Among them, the fast pace of work and tight time are the main reasons for users to order food delivery. 42.7% of users choose food delivery to solve work meals, and 21.8% of users are unwilling to cook at home.

Measures

The "no tableware required" option is not effective

Food delivery companies are very concerned about the problem of tableware waste. Recently, Meituan Dianping and Ele.me have begun to pilot the "no tableware required" service, which is to add the "no tableware required" option on the APP order page. The tableware here refers to disposable chopsticks. It is understood that Meituan Waimai launched the "Qingshan Plan" this year, established the position of Chief Environmental Protection Officer, and encouraged users to participate in the "bring your own tableware" activity to reduce the use of disposable tableware such as chopsticks and napkins. At the same time, for catering companies that promise to use "environmentally friendly lunch box packaging", the environmental protection logo is lit up and screening items are added. Consumers can select with one click, and invite consumers and professional organizations to supervise catering companies that promise to use "environmentally friendly lunch box packaging".

Ele.me launched the "Blue Planet" plan this year, adding a "no tableware required" note option on the order confirmation page of the new version of the APP, and providing points rewards for users who choose "no tableware required". The Ele.me Points Mall will open an environmental protection area for users to use points to claim desert public welfare forests and exchange for environmentally friendly shopping bags. At present, Ele.me has reached a preliminary cooperation intention with well-known environmental protection organizations such as the Alxa SEE Foundation.

However, it is understood that the trial results are not very ideal. Some businesses would rather spend time and effort on the taste preferences of diners, fearing mistakes, such as less sugar, less oil, no coriander, etc., but for the question of whether to put chopsticks, they hold the mentality of "better believe it than not believe it". "What if I don't put chopsticks," said a restaurant owner, "what if the guests give me a bad review? I have to send someone to deliver it again, and the labor cost has risen again."

Some analysts believe that the role of food delivery platforms in dealing with the problem of takeaway garbage is limited. Only when catering companies that provide takeaway services, manufacturers of disposable tableware, consumers, etc. assume corresponding responsibilities and all parties work together, can we hope to improve the environmental problems brought about by the current takeaway boxes.

Expert opinion

Abandoned tableware should be recycled

Zhou Lili, senior engineer of the Comprehensive Business Department of the China Plastics Processing Industry Association, pointed out that plastic products are a relatively contradictory product. It facilitates our lives, but also brings environmental protection problems. Zhou Lili suggested that the relevant departments formulate a rule on how to recycle, regenerate and manage these discarded tableware. "We also suggest that centralized inspections be conducted in some key areas and some recycling points be set up. Of course, I think the cost should be borne by manufacturers and distributors according to the model of white polystyrene lunch boxes. This is a contribution to environmental protection. In addition, we still recommend that degradable materials should be used as much as possible in the future when conditions permit."

Meng Suhe, chairman of the Chinese Society of Food Science and Technology, said that in terms of the safety and environmental protection of takeaway lunch boxes, catering platforms should actively formulate entry barriers, guide catering companies to choose qualified, safe and environmentally friendly lunch box products, and eliminate catering companies that do not pay attention to environmental protection and safety. For lunch box manufacturers, Meng Suhe believes that due to the characteristics of Chinese cooking and eating, they should actively produce lunch box products suitable for Chinese takeaways and ensure their environmental attributes and product quality.

Shang Guiqin, director of the National Key Laboratory of Food Contact Materials (Changzhou), believes that food delivery companies can formulate industry standards for the fast food industry, unify the standard requirements for lunch boxes, select manufacturers and suppliers that can meet the standards, and make environmentally friendly choices from the perspective of social responsibility.

Financial Observation

It is difficult to solve the problem in the short term by "publicizing" alone

The pollution problem of fast food boxes has recently become a hot topic in public opinion. Experts say that the amount of plastic used in the United States far exceeds that of China, but the public opinion in the United States has not been hot on the issue of pollution. From a certain perspective, our citizens' attention to environmental protection is the fastest in the world.

It is commendable that the two food delivery companies took the lead in taking environmental protection measures and tried every means to remind users to appropriately reduce the use of disposable dining utensils. These efforts can not only reduce the pollution of disposable tableware to our country, but also achieve the corporate culture and corporate image of two responsible large enterprises.

In the next ten years, the socialization, intensification and industrialization of kitchens will have great development, and the pollution problem of disposable tableware will also develop rapidly. Time is running out. If we only rely on these companies' public persuasion, it will definitely not be able to solve such a huge social problem in the short term.

According to Ele.me, although the option "No cutlery required" is designed on the APP, and some people do often check this option, many businesses still provide tableware for every takeaway. The reason is that, on the one hand, it is very troublesome to selectively remove the tableware from some orders, and on the other hand, if there is a mistake, the customer's request for replacement tableware will increase the cost. In addition, if the customer regrets, they dare not not replace the tableware. So this environmental protection measure that is worth boasting about has become a decoration.

Therefore, to solve the problem of white garbage, we must first rely on the consciousness of the people. How to quickly improve the environmental protection consciousness of the people is the key to the problem. In fact, without the promotion of these companies, everyone who has the habit of ordering takeaways frequently can definitely say a lot of profound insights on environmental protection issues. But whether you are willing to practice it yourself, whether you are willing to exchange your own small troubles for a greater improvement in the living environment of the entire country's people is another question.

Text/Reporter Zhao Xinpei Intern Huang Jiating

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