The forestry administration of Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province, has decided not to ban the use of throwaway wooden chopsticks. The decision follows extensive consultation and evaluation as reported at the first session of the 11th Municipal People's Congress of Wuhan, which ended a few days ago.

Last year, deputy to the Wuhan People's Congress, Chen Wenfeng appealed for a ban on the use of the disposable chopsticks. The forestry administration of the city then carried out detailed investigations into the issue. They found the quota for cut timber set for Wuhan by the Hubei provincial government was 160,000 cubic meters per year in the period of the 10th Five-Year Plan. However annual felling has not exceeded 30,000 cubic meters in recent years, guaranteeing the rapid growth of reserves of standing timber. Wuhan's area under timber has actually increased from some 9 percent in 1985 to a full 16 percent at present.

Several factories in Wuhan are engaged in the production of disposable wooden chopsticks. The timber used is cut down in line with the timber production plan and related forestry policies. Poplar now grows on an area of some 100,000 mu (6,760 hectares). This ensures reliable and sustainable supplies of timber available to local industries, which in turn benefits the citizens of Wuhan. The production of the single-use chopsticks is just one of the ways in which the poplar is used.

So far, the Chinese government has not promulgated any laws to ban the production, sale or use of throwaway wooden chopsticks.

(china.org.cn translated by Zhang Tingting, January 21, 2003)