Society
Deputy makes his basket case
By Zhu Zhe (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-03-18 07:14
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Farmer calls for ban on use of plastic bags
Beijing: As one of thousands of deputies attending the recent National People's Congress (NPC) session, Chen Fei was not trying to steal the spotlight.
Instead, the 54-year-old farmer from East China's Zhejiang province was doing just what he had been doing for the past decade: handing out bamboo baskets to protect the environment.
"My idea is simple: use baskets instead of plastic bags for shopping," Chen, looking healthy and tanned, told China Daily.
He has been promoting the use of environmentally-friendly bamboo baskets since 2000.
In the past 10 years, Chen has traveled to about 20 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions on his green mission. He has spent more than 300,000 yuan ($44,000) offering baskets to people free of charge. The money came mainly from profits from his small business selling green fertilizers and from the support of his family.
His village of Zhu'an in Yongjia county is located in a scenic area along the Nanxi River. When he was a child the water in the river was so clear one could see to the bottom.
"The river was very beautiful and its water was as pure as today's bottled water," he said. "When I was a small child, I often pastured cattle after school. I always carried a basket with me, and often went home with a full basket of fish caught from the river. There were plenty of fish in the river because the water was unpolluted. There were no plastic bags," he said.
However, in 2000 a flood hit the Nanxi River and Chen was shocked to see numerous plastic bags stuck on trees along the riverbanks. He believed it was people upriver throwing away plastic bags and he became deeply worried about it.
Chen came up with the idea of reintroducing out-of-date baskets and encouraging local people to use them instead of non-biodegradable plastic bags when shopping.
"Baskets have been used for thousands of years, and they can be used for another thousand years," Chen said.
He began his mission by taking a few homemade baskets to the biggest farm market in town.
"I asked people to pick up baskets again and told them about the harm plastic bags can do. Many people were curious as they had stopped using baskets years ago," he said.
Chen said not many people wanted to take his baskets at first, even for free. "Some people laughed at me, with others saying I was just trying to be famous. Whatever they said, I didn't give up."
Later, his persistence caught the attention of local media and more and more people began to follow his call.
In May 2005, Chen made his village China's first to be free of plastic bags. In 2007, he set up the Association of Green Environmental Volunteers in Yongjia county to rally more people to join his mission.
The association now has 713 volunteers, mainly local teachers and students. They often collect garbage along the Nanxi River and clean illegal small advertisements along the street, Chen said.
Starting in 2008, when he was elected an NPC deputy, he began bringing baskets to the session.
In the first year, he brought each of the 3,000 deputies a handkerchief, and brought baskets for deputies from the 56 ethnic groups.
Last year, he brought 3,200 baskets for the deputies, and this year he brought 60 baskets and offered them to Beijing residents in a local farm market.
Chen said he was particularly happy during this year's session. "I met Minister of Environmental Protection Zhou Shengxian. He wrote me a sentence: applauding the baskets!" he said.
In addition, this year's central government work report devoted many pages to environmental protection and a green economy, which also thrilled Chen.
"I can feel the change in the past 10 years. Both the people and the government have been aware of the importance of a good environment," he said.
Chen said he could never forget the moment in 2008 when he heard that the State Council, the Cabinet, had decided to ban the production, sale and use of ultra-thin plastic bags. Shops were also forbidden to offer free plastic bags to customers.
"I don't know whether my efforts are related with the issue of such government policies. I was simply happy," he said.
Last year, Chen also asked a local reporter in Zhejiang to bring 50 Chinese bamboo baskets to the Copenhagen Climate Conference in Denmark, and give them free to deputies and reporters there.
During this year's NPC session, he submitted a proposal to tighten the management of plastic bags in farm markets.
"After the government banned the use of ultra-thin plastic bags, they are no longer in use in supermarkets. But many people can still get them for free in farm markets," he said.
Looking back on the past decade, Chen said he never expected he could do so much.
"I'm a farmer with only a primary school education. I don't have flowery words. My speeches are never longer than five minutes. I think I'm successful because I have a pure heart."
