英闻天下——33 Who Is the Biggest Food Waster

 　　In China, parents often tell their kids to not waste food, however, media reports sat that food waste accounts for about 70 percent of the country's mounting garbage production. Especially in restaurants, massive amounts of food are wasted every day.

 
　　Many people say when they dine out, they usually order more dishes than they can eat. One citizen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province says he takes away the leftovers 1.
 
　　"Usually we'll have some leftovers after meals, because when you invite friends to dine out, you don't know how much they can eat, so I order a bit more dishes to make sure everybody has enough food."
 
　　While another citizen in Shenyang, Liaoning Province says she never packs what is left on the dining table.
 
　　"What I usually experience during dining out is big meal, which includes many dishes. I seldom take away the because we often have other activities after the meals, and it's not convenient to take the leftovers. And when no one suggests taking away leftovers, I won't do so."
 
　　Some people say they only take away leftovers when they dine out with family, but not if they eat with friends or colleagues.
 
　　In Lanzhou city, more than 200 tons of food is wasted every day in about 2,600 restaurants across the main districts.
 
　　Sun Weihan drives a kitchen waste truck. He says their garbage collection company has 45 such trucks, and each truck has to be driven out twice every night to collect kitchen waste, but they still cannot collect it all.
 
　　Hao Wei, department manager of the local garbage collection company explains.
 
　　"Currently, we are still far from capable of collecting all the kitchen waste from these restaurants. What we can not handle is collected by individuals. Every day, about 30 to 40 tons of kitchen waste is collected by individuals."
 
　　Hao says based on his experience collecting kitchen waste, he knows the reason behind the massive food waste.
 
　　"We often suppose there will be more kitchen waste during these festivals, but we found that people would take away the leftovers after dining out with family, so less food is actually wasted in such occasions. Massive food waste is usually seen in wedding banquets and business meals."
 
　　In China, when many people waste food, there is still a large number of people who do not have enough to eat. According to statistics by the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation 2 and Development, China has 128 million people living on an annual income of less than 2,300 yuan or 368 US dollars, a poverty line revised in November 2011. These destitute 3 people make up 13.4 percent of the rural population and nearly 10 percent of the national population.
 
　　For CRI, I am Zhang Wan 4.