Essay Idea

Description of situation

Globalization brought about excessive consumption and rapid industrialization in east Asian countries like China, Vietnam and Japan.With rising affluence, the demand for disposable chopstick in this regions has escalated.The country's demand for foreign wood had tripled since 2000 to reach 180 million cubic meters in 2011, the London-based Environmental Investigation Agency said in a report last year.

Identification of problem

Singaporeans, being predominately of east Asian descent, also have the habit of using disposable chopstick for their convenience and sanitation.Though there are no official statistics as to how much disposable chopstick Singaporeans throw away each year, they nevertheless contributed significantly to destruction of forests.Assuming that a person throws away a pair of disposable utensils each week, this means that 104 utensils are disposed annually and if everyone in Singapore does the same, this can come up to about 500,000,000 utensils being disposed in Singapore each year.   

Description of a solution

The government can encourage hawkers and major food courts to give less disposable chopsticks to their customers. The food retailers can also have a "Bring Your Own Utensils" Day when they do not give disposable chopsticks to their clients.In addition,the government-linked companies and stautary boards can follow the lead of CapitaLand Group ,which distributed 2000 cutlery to their staff, to convey the importance of reducing the amount of disposable chopsticks to its staff.

Evaluation of solution
The effectiveness of the solution cannot be gauged easily as the eating habits of people will not change immediately. Through relentless endeavors in educating and spurring the public in adopting this practice, the usage of disposable will definitely be reduced albeit slowly.

Thesis:Bringing your own utensil can reduce the consumption of disposable chopsticks in Singapore.

Introduction:

The pace of living in Singapore increases due to rapid urbanization and industrialization brought forth by globalization and it changes the way of living for Singaporeans even when it comes to taking away food from the hawker centers and restaurants. More Singaporeans prefer disposable chopsticks due to convenience and sanitation.570 million disposable chopsticks are manufactured in China every year, which amounts to 100 trees being chopped down every day. At this rate, it is estimated that within 20 years, China’s forests would be seriously depleted. As part of the international community, Singapore must and can make an effort to reduce deforestation by reducing the usage of disposable chopsticks locally.