NGO's lawsuit highlights amount of garbage generated by takeouts

THE NO 4 INTERMEDIATE PEOPLE'S COURT of Beijing has accepted a public interest litigation filed by the Green Volunteer League of Chongqing against the country's three major takeout delivery platforms, Baidu Waimai, Ele.me and Meituan. Gmw.cn commented on Sunday:

The Chongqing-based NGO's litigation centers on the disposable plastic utensils used by the takeout delivery providers that use the platforms, which it said create a huge amount of waste and serious damage to ecological systems. Customers ordering takeout meals, it argued, should be offered the choice of whether or not they want disposable chopsticks, knives, forks and spoons.

Such an argument is worthwhile, as it is estimated that about 19.5 million pairs of chopsticks are dispatched each day with orders made through Meituan alone, and the takeout orders across the country are estimated to generate 350 metric tons of garbage or more on a daily basis.