Green Chopsticks

There are two main purposes of this project. The first is to gather information about the impact that disposable chopsticks have on the environment, and to make that information available to the public, through flyers, articles, educational materials and this website. The second is to investigate and encourage the use of various kinds of reusable chopsticks, and to foster more environmental awareness and behavior in general.

Chopsticks are a clear example of how our small daily actions can add up to a significant impact. We hope to foster this kind of thinking by connecting chopsticks to the forests they come from. To this end we will also be gathering information about these forests, and encourage people to notice them in art such as Ansel Adams' photographs or films such as The Road Home.

Chopsticks are also a great educational tool because they are so simple and physical. Various artists and schools have collected used waribashi for various projects, and we hope to develop some similar programs.

Finally, one of the things that is interesting about this project is that it addresses forestry issues on the "demand" side, while most efforts to stop logging focus on stopping the "supply" coming from particular places. Hopefully we can reduce the demand, and thereby reduce the situations in which the supply is a problem.

• To reduce the use of disposable chopsticks, and thus reduce the pressure on the aspen forests;
• To investigate the issues involved in each of the resources used in chopsticks (including reusable ones), and to provide a forum for discussion of these issues;
• To educate the public about the specific resource issues, and about the general issue of disposiblity and consumption;
• To promote the awareness and daily practice of conservation.