HAIKOU, September 23. /TASS/. Hainan's Sanya is taking active steps to tackle food waste, the Hainan Daily reported.
In August 2020, Chinese President Xi Jinping urged the country's population to "treat food security consciously," calling the habit of wasting food "sad and shocking." The Chinese leader stressed the need to strengthen the legal framework and regulations, take effective measures, and create a "long-term mechanism to effectively combat food waste."
According to the Hainan Daily, most of Sanya's cafes and restaurants are already offering visitors to order half of the dish, give recommendations on the menu, and adjust the order volume depending on the number of people at the table.
For example, cafes and restaurants located near the resort town of Wuzhizhou Island have introduced a new system of serving dishes: guests are offered a set of six small plates with local delicacies. According to the newspaper, on the one hand, this will allow customers to try everything the local cuisine has to offer, on the other hand, to reduce the waste of the restaurant after the meal.
In addition to Sanya, many other China's cities have already joined the campaign against food waste. For example, in Shanghai, they even launched a city competition dubbed "a clean plate": residents of the metropolis were invited to register in a special application, and then for three weeks daily upload photos confirming that the plate is completely empty after eating. In order to increase the motivation of the participants, the organizers of the contest prepared over 500 prizes, the cost of each about 150 yuan (about $ 22).