What is the Lump Sum Industry?

Disposable items are items that can only be used once. A wide range of disposable items, such as disposable lunch boxes, disposable chopsticks, disposable shoe covers, disposable cups, are well known, and some disposable items are widely used in daily life, but there is no A more substantive concept, such as condoms, insoles, toilet pads, etc., actually belongs to the scope of disposable products ^[1] .

Disposable supplies

Disposable items refer to items that can only be used once, not repeatedly or multiple times, and are generally manufactured products.

With the rapid development of social reform and opening up, disposable products are also used by more and more people. Among them, disposable chopsticks and disposable paper cups are not only used in large quantities, but also people have a new understanding of their quality and function, which has led to the emergence of a new industry of disposable supplies. In fact, as early as the 19th century, the disposable goods industry in various European countries has begun to develop, and by the middle of the 19th century, the development of disposable goods has been prosperous.

In China, the disposable goods industry has developed relatively late, but it is developing at an alarming rate. In just a few years, endless companies have emerged from small scales and large enterprises known throughout the country. Among them, Shanghai Sunteng Company and Shanghai Rally Company are the star enterprises of disposable goods in China today.

1. Environmental pollution. Disposable consumer goods have caused serious pollution to the environment. Disposable products are seriously and randomly discarded after use, and the potential harm to the environment cannot be ignored: most of the disposable products are plastic products, which cause a heavy burden on the environment because they are difficult to degrade.

2. Waste of resources. One-time consumption has led to a wild plunder of natural resources. Due to the production of disposable wooden chopsticks every year, China will lose 5 million cubic meters of wood a year. In China, 10 million boxes of disposable chopsticks are produced each year, and 25 million trees need to be cut, of which 6 million boxes are exported abroad. Behind the convenience and quickness brought by one-time is shocking resource consumption.

3. Health issues. As a fast-moving consumer goods, disposable products often have low-quality counterparts, and the chaotic market situation is difficult to guarantee product quality. Due to low entry barriers, inadequate supervision, lack of strict sanitary standards, and effective market supervision systems, etc., disposable product manufacturing companies are mixed, and low-quality and cheap disposable items flood the market.

The formation and popularization of one-time consumption has a complex social background. It is conceived by a combination of economic, technological, cultural, and religious factors.

1. Consumerism and one-time consumption. With the development of society and the advancement of modern science and technology, people have got rid of the shackles of extreme lack of material, and entered the era of clothing and food. However, the great abundance of social products does not bring lasting prosperity but

Huge waste of disposable supplies

In China, it is an old habit to provide disposable articles for free in the hotel industry for two or three decades. Imagine that there are about 280,000 hotels in the country, each of which provides "six small pieces", and the "six small pieces" are usually used once by a guest or thrown away before they are used up. The waste caused is startling.

Jinjiang Star is a well-known domestic economy hotel chain. Li Yukai, the vice president of Jinjiang Star Hotel Co., Ltd., told reporters that in order to reduce the waste caused by "six small pieces", Jinjiang Star cooperated with Double-sided Needle (Yangzhou) Hotel Supplies Co., Ltd. The plastic toothbrush handles and plastic combs in the "six small pieces" were recovered and returned to the two-sided needle company for secondary use. The two-sided needle company made plastic products and sold them to the hotel, and some were put on the market.

Lan Jin, general manager of Double-faced Needle (Yangzhou) Hotel Supplies Co., Ltd., calculated the recycled plastic waste. There are currently more than 500 hotel chains in Jinjiang Inn. It consumes 100,000 sets of toothbrushes and combs every day and can recover 1,500 kg of plastic. On average, each Jinjiang Inn can recover about 3 kg of plastic. According to a rough estimate of 280,000 hotels in China, 840 tons of plastic can be recovered every day, which is more than 300,000 tons a year. Calculated based on the consumption of more than 3 tons of oil for the production of 1 ton of plastic, the plastic required for toothbrushes and combs used in the hotel industry each year requires 1 million tons of oil to be refined.

Zhang Jingfu, assistant chairman of the China Hotel Association, said: "Six small pieces" are just a part of the waste in the hotel industry. The hotel industry is a big consumer of water, energy and gas. "

Disposables promote environmental protection

Due to the serious waste, the call for "six small pieces" to exit the hotel industry has always existed. According to Zhang Jingfu's review, many places have advocated canceling, reducing the provision of "six small pieces", or allowing "six small pieces" to be used for a fee. In 2002, relevant parties in Shanghai once advocated the "six small pieces" to withdraw from the hotel industry; in 2009, the relevant documents issued by the Changsha Municipal Government imperatively required that hotels no longer provide "six small pieces" for free; in 2010, Both Guangdong Province and Shandong Province have issued relevant documents for the hotel industry to provide free disposable supplies.

Advocates continue and compulsory orders are there, but most of them go to one result-poor execution or nothing.

Zhang Jingfu said that guests staying at the hotel felt that providing "six small pieces" was a necessary service. There is competition between the hotels, and one-time supplies are not provided free of charge. Maybe the guests are not satisfied and will not come next time. The hotel can only provide them. Some hotels do not place "six small pieces" in the bathroom. If necessary, they can ask the waiter to bring them into the guest room. I hope that this way can reduce waste. However, most guests think that the hotel will definitely provide it. They will not carry it with them. They can only ask the waiter to deliver it. The rate of delivery to the rooms is very high, which causes a waste of labor costs. Back to the room.

In Zhang Jingfu's view, Chinese consumers should change their minds and form environmentally-friendly lifestyles. He also compared with the situation abroad. "If you sign up for a tour group to Europe, America, and some Southeast Asian countries, you will write a trip notice. The hotel does not provide disposable items. Please bring your own. "

Disposable awareness

It is gratifying that, whether it is a budget hotel or a luxury hotel, the awareness of saving is getting stronger and stronger. Many indicators of the green hotel selection initiated by the China Hotel Association are related to the practice of saving. Nearly 1,000 hotels nationwide have been rated as green hotels.

Li Yukai told reporters that many Jinjiang Inn hotels have water deepening decomposition pools, and the water used for washing face and bathing is processed into deep water for flushing toilets and watering flowers. Yuan Guomin, the director of optimization management of the Westin Beijing Financial Street Hotel, told the reporter that in 2011, the hotel had launched a "do not clean up room credits every day" for 4 months. If guests stay more days and do not need to change disposable items every day And organize the room, you can get 500 points for membership.