Beijing to Clean Up Restaurant Slops Business

The Straits Times (Singapore) ^ | September 13, 2007 | Reuters

[JACKRUSSELL]

(BEIJING) - China’s capital plans to revamp the collection of restaurant waste and eventually phase out vendors who ply Beijing's eateries buying scraps used for pig swill, a local newspaper reported.

The city's many thousands of restaurants sustain an army of poor migrant workers who use barrels placed on often filthy three-wheel cycles to buy uneaten food, cooking oil and kitchen scraps.

They take the smelly loads to the city's outskirts, where the refuse is sold for pig feed and - despite food safety rules - the oil is recycled for cooking, soaps and other goods.

With the 2008 Olympic Games looming and the country's food hygiene under tough scrutiny, city officials have said they will begin phasing out the vast informal trade and replace it with 'unified collection' by specialised contractors, the Beijing Morning Post reported on Thursday.

'This means that the privately owned swill carts will in the future bid farewell to Beijing,' the paper said.

The phase-out will begin at Olympic Games venues, a well-known chain of Peking duck restaurants and over 100 hotels that have signed deals to receive Olympic Games guests, the paper said.

By 2010, all the city's 30,000 restaurants and hotel eateries will come under the clean-up plan, which calls for standardised handling of kitchen garbage at waste treatment plants.

Beijing's restaurants produce 1,200 tonnes of food refuse every day, the paper said. It did not say what will happen to the migrant workers who now make a living from the scraps trade.

[JACKRUSSELL]

A Chinese woman cycles her cart on a street in Beijing, China, Thursday, Sept. 13, 2007. China's capital plans to get rid of the foul-smelling slops collection carts that scavenge for food waste and resell it as pig swill, with many to disappear ahead of the 2008 Olympic Games, state media said Thursday. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

A Chinese man repairs a cart on a sidewalk in Beijing, China, Thursday, Sept. 13, 2007. China's capital plans to get rid of the foul-smelling slops collection carts that scavenge for food waste and resell it as pig swill, with many to disappear ahead of the 2008 Olympic Games, state media said Thursday. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Carts are piled up while a Chinese man cycles his cart a nearby street in Beijing, China, Thursday, Sept. 13, 2007. China's capital plans to get rid of the foul-smelling slops collection carts that scavenge for food waste and resell it as pig swill, with many to disappear ahead of the 2008 Olympic Games, state media said Thursday. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

[JACKRUSSELL]

”Made in China” Ping.

(Please FReepmail me if you would like to be on or off of the list.)

[Red Badger]

Note to self:

Do not buy any Chinese Hot Dogs..................

[Moolah]

The Chinese are pigs.

[toldyou]

ewwwwwww

I’m going there in October for a vacation. Might be when I start my diet.

[Vaquero]

SWIDGIN!!!!

[stormer]

That is an extraordinarily stupid comment.

[-YYZ-]

Collecting restaurant waste for use as pig feed seems like an efficient use of food waste that would otherwise end up in the dump, and environmentally friendly. I know where I live many of us already voluntarily collect food waste for composting - but I don’t think restaurants do. Of course, it can get a little stinky at the end of the week before garbage day.

[stormer]

China can be challenging for the traveler. Where are you going to be going?

[Hydroshock]

Peking duck in dimethyl glycol sauce

[Hydroshock]

The next season of Survivor is to be filmed in China, they have to eat the same food as teh common chinese citizen for 30 days and see if they survive.

[Red Badger]

No wonder Chinese Restaurant deliver so fast.................

[Red Badger]

Pigs?.....they are also Tigers, Dragons, Rats, Horses, Rabbits and Roosters................

[stormer]

Excellent point.

[Red Badger]

BTW, 2007 is the year of the PIG!..............So, nearly everyone born in China this year is a PIG!...........(some overlap at the beginning of the year, as the Lunar New Year doesn’t coincide with the Western calendar New Year January 1st.)..................

[phil1750]

I thought this story was about Michael Moore.

[Teacher317]

I just got back Monday from Guangzhou, in southern China. The food was fine, and this is in the heart of the food-borne problem area.

Is this your first trip out there? Are you going to Beijing, or another city? There are plenty of FReepers who could give you some very good advice before you go.

Tip #1: Bring any over-the-counter meds you might need. It’s FAR easier to find OTC amoxycillin than it is to find Pepto-Bismol.

Tip #2: Always have a small packet of tissues with you.

Tip #3: Be prepared to see and hear the occasional hocker (even from otherwise elegant ladies), as well as children publicly relieving themselves.

Tip #4: Don’t be afraid of the food or the water... but don’t be stupid, either.

Hope you have a wonderful trip!!

[MimirsWell]

"The Chinese are pigs."

Now you have gone and made this Chicom pig indeed very very furious! I can even hear him go oink oink in anger. :)

[Teacher317]

Actually, 2007 is the year of the GOLDEN Pig... which only happens once every 5 cycles (60 years). Pork prices went up a bit to reflect increased popularity, but otherwise it’s mainly a good-luck thing.

The Chinese Communist Party recently ordered a small price drop, though. Inflation is becoming a problem for them now. The increase in national wealth is hitting the suburbs hard. Many cannot afford the higher rents, but are unwilling to move back out to the rural areas where wages are a fraction of those offered in the cities. If it persists, this could cause some real uprisings. The CCP has been very wise to try to control their amazing growth. (The only thing they fear are medium-to-large-scale riots and demonstrations.)

[Red Badger]

Bing Crosby - Would You Like To Swing On A Star

Would you like to swing on a star
carry moonbeams home in a jar
and be better off than you are
or would you rather be a mule

A mule is an animal with long funny ears
he kicks up at anything he hears
His back is brawny but his brain is weak
he’s just plain stupid with a stubborn streak
and by the way if you hate to go to school
You may grow up to be a mule

Oh would you like to swing on a star
carry moonbeams home in a jar
and be better off than you are
or would you rather be a pig

A pig is an animal with dirt on his face
his shoes are a terrible disgrace
He has no manners when he eats his food
He’s fat and lazy and extremely rude
But if you don’t care a feather or a fig
you may grow up to be a pig

Oh would you like to swing on a star
carry moonbeams home in a jar
and be better off than you are
or would you rather be a fish

A fish won’t do anything but swim in a brook
he can’t write his name or read a book
to fool the people is his only thought
and though he’s slippery he still gets caught
but if then that sort of life is what you wish
you may grow up to be a fish
(music)
a new kind of jumped up slippery fish

And all the monkeys aren’t in the zoo
everyday you see quite a few
so you see it’s all up to you,
you could be better than you are
you could be swinging on a star