Whitepollutionpersists
WE'VEbeenhearingandtalkingaboutitforafairlylongtime：curbingwhathasbecomeknownas“white"pollution.Butstillweareusingthewhitepolystyrene（PS）foamfoodcontainersandotherdisposableplasticproducts，whichlargelymakeupthisformoflittering.
Miandianwang，awell-knownlocalfast-foodchain，isstillhandingouttakeoutfoodinthesePSfoamcontainers，eventhoughtheyshouldbeenphasedoutbeforeDecember31，2000，underaCentralGovernmentdecree.OneofthewaiterssaidinitsoutletonHongliRoadonMondaythattheyaregoingtoswitchtoenvironmentallyfriendlycontainers“sometimeinthefuture".
However，theMiandianwangoutletinSam'sClub，whichisaffiliatedwithWal-Mart，isofferingtake-outfoodinlightbrowncontainerswhicharebiodegradable.Liang，aclerkwithSam'sClub，toldShenzhenDailyyesterdaythattheclubrequiredtheMiandianwangoutlettodosoinitscontract.
AccordingtoLiang，allthedepartmentsintheclubswitchedtobiodegradablecontainersduringtheSpringFestivalholiday.
ZhaoHua，withtheenergydivisionoftheShenzhenMunicipalEconomicDevelopmentBureau，oneofthefivemunicipalgovernmentdepartmentsinvolvedinthecurbingofwhitepollutioninthecity，saidonMondaythatlargecompaniesandretailerslikeWal-MartandVanguardhaverespondedtothedecreebyswitchingtobiodegradablecontainers.Butsheadmittedthatisjustthetipoftheicebergintheseeminglyendlesswaronwhitepollutioninthecity.
Zhao'sbureauhasmetwithfourotherrelevantdepartmentsonseveraloccasions.WhattheyproducedisnotafeasiblesolutionbutanechoorrewordingoftheCentralGovernmentdecree，accordingtoLuoWeifromShenzhenMunicipalLegalAffairsBureau，whoisresponsibleforreviewingthis“echo".The”echo"hasnowbeenpassedontothemunicipalgovernmentwhichisexpectedtoannounceitformallyinthenearfuture.ButLuosaidshe'snotsureifthisrewordingcanplayasignificantroleineliminatingwhitepollutioninthecity.“Wedon'tlacklaws，regulationsordecrees.Therealconcernistheeffectiveenforcementoftheselawsorregulations，"saidLuo.
ZhaoHuaadmittedthatcitieslikeShanghaiandothercoastalcitieswhicharesensitiveabouttheirimageastouristdestinationsaredoingabetterjobinthisregard.“ShanghaiissaidtohaveproducedaverydetailedhandbookonhowtocarryoutthecurbingworkandHainanhasevenbanneddisposablefoamslippersinhotels，"Zhaosaid.
LiuGuanqing，presidentofShenzhenXunbaoInvestmentDevelopmentCoLtd，alocalmanufacturerofbiodegradablefoodcontainerswasveryeagertohearthemunicipalgovernment'sdecisiononthematter.“Sinceearlythisyear，I'veseenordersflyin.I'llexpandproductiononcethegovernmentannouncesitsstanceontheissue."