Chopsticks face the chop

China is to limit production of disposable chopsticks as part of a series of environmental measures, the government said today.

Currently, some 45 billion pairs of chopsticks, equivalent to 25 million trees, are produced annually.

Restaurants are now being asked to use clean recyclable chopsticks instead of disposable ones. There have been growing calls in recent years to stop the use of disposable chopsticks.