B.Y.O.C. - Chopstick Reuse Ramping Up In Japan

Reuse Chopsticks image
Photo courtesy tanakawho via flickr

Ironic that the Japanese originally started making those flimsy, break-apart disposable wooden chopsticks as a good way to deal with wood scraps. Now the nation goes through 24 billion pairs per year - 63 million pairs discarded per day. If you're really thrifty you can glue them together into a chopstick canoe.

Otherwise there's a growing trend in Tokyo and other cities to B.Y.O.C - bring your own pair of personal "hashi" or chopsticks. Now the Marche restaurant group is offering a reward system for people who bring their own - one point for each restaurant visit where you BYOC - 10 points equals a 500 yen ($5) discount on a meal. There's even a "chopstick keep" system where regular customers can store their chopsticks (they'll wash them) at the restaurant. A popular lunch buffet called Yokohama Cruise Cruise is giving a 300 yen discount on their 2100 yen ($20) buffet price for BYOC customers. Of course, you've got to have a pair to carry - here's a pair of rice-based biomass and polypropelene plastic chopsticks. Via CScout Japan