Sustainability awareness is on the rise all over the world and China is not staying behind. Being the largest producer of single-use plastic and with its largest landfill full, 25 years ahead of time, China is beginning to take major steps to combat the single-use, plastic-waste epidemic in major cities.
Both locals and expats are becoming more and more aware of the demand to switch to reusable and sustainable alternatives for commonly used plastic products. But what about the daily coffee drinkers and frequent brunchers?
Yahaira Vargas, a 7-year Chinese expat has noticed the big shift in plastic-waste awareness in this fast-paced country. “You can see from 7 years ago to now, more and more businesses like Luckin Coffee now have reusable cups”, she says.
Fortunately, restaurants and cafés all over Nanjing and other major cities in China are following suit in switching to more environmentally-friendlier options and offering a sense of ease, as well as a guilt-free experience, to the casual bruncher and coffee drinker.
Vargas beams as she recollects her own journey noticing these small but monumental changes happening right under her nose, “More foreign places like Real Bread are big on that. They have paper straws and the bags are reusable. Even at Skyways you can take your own bag or bring in your own cup.” Shining light on the great initiatives in some of Nanjing’s favourite shops that weren’t in place before is one way of celebrating sense and sustainability.
With China’s proposed future ban on single-use waste plastics being phased in this year and to be completed by 2025, we can hope to see a stronger influence in local eateries all across the country adopting a sense of sustainability in their workplace that will hopefully trickle beyond the inside of those busy walls.
According to CGTN, McDonalds will swap out plastic straws in all of its mainland China stores, replacing them with strawless lids by the end of 2020, an action that will result in a reduction of 400 tons of plastic waste each year. We can assume this swap in a popular conglomerate such as McDonalds will influence consumers alike to take notice of their own single-use plastic waste outside of the restaurant.
Until then, some eateries have already began adopting some environmentally-friendlier options to slake their customers participation in the movement, without missing out on their daily dose of brown energy.
Also notably, well-known franchises like Starbucks and Wagas have switched to paper straws, a subtle shift towards the plastic-free lane. Some smaller cafes, such as Botanical Silver in the Xinjeikou area have even gone as far as serving their iced coffees with a metal straw. It’s an appreciable act that we can only hope will be encored throughout the cities’ local businesses.
Waste sensitivity is something that is relatively new to residents in China. Long-time foreign locals like Vargas can trace the slow shift in Nanjing to only 2 years ago. “It’s kind of like a wave” she says about the shift. “Sustainability is like a fad, because people are starting to be aware of how wasteful we can be.”
Customers can also begin participating in sense and sustainability on their own accord. Natalie Roman, an English teacher in Nanjing recollects her first visit to Luckin Coffee a year ago where her environmentally conscious efforts were shot down. “I let the barista know to put the order in my cup. She made the coffee and put it into a Luckin to-go cup, then poured the coffee into my cup”, she recalled.
Met with frustration, Roman joins the eco-conscious community as they patiently wait for Nanjing to make waste-free living a norm in the busy and ever-changing city. “It just felt like I was defeated. I tried to do something good and ended up being wasteful anyway. I was disappointed.” She refrained from visiting the coffee franchise for a long while.
Alternatively, conscious consumers can enjoy sense and sustainability while shopping in local open markets. With their loose fresh produce, such as eggs and grains, shoppers can take in their own reusable bags to carry the fresh ingredients they enjoy, walking home with cheap, fresh produce and zero plastic waste.
“We as a family, we try to bring our own bags when going to the grocery. My son has his own reusable straws and I have mine as well”, shares Vargas on her family’s recent changes in their shopping habits.
“A few months later I noticed more and more coffee shops promoting discounts for bringing in your own cup. So, I did that”, noted Roman in her search for coffee in the big city. “It makes you feel good. You are saving money and saving the environment.” Roman’s story is similar to that of many consumers in their journey to sense and sustainability in Nanjing.
“It’s about slow progress and changing the culture and mentality”, shares Vargas. Small, yet progressive steps, such as using a metal straw until it becomes habitual before jumping into another step is an easy and sensible way of joining the movement so that it sticks to permanent sustainable habits.
However, with time comes progress. 1 year on, Roman can now enjoy her Luckin’ coffee free of plastic guilt. “It’s really good to see a change happen so quickly. Especially with it being such a big chain in China.”
While there is a lot of information to absorb in living a sustainable lifestyle, it’s important to not become overwhelmed to avoid withdrawal from the movement.
Everything in nature is interconnected and as consumers, we can do our part in minimalising our carbon footprint.
“Me going into coffee shops and not using their cups; I feel like that makes a difference”, says Roman about her contribution to the movement. “If a hundred more people did it or a million more people did it, that would make a big difference.”
With the climate crisis finally increasing alarm among governments and their citizens, we can see more and more restaurants in Nanjing beginning to show their support to the environment in various ways. Today, environmentally-conscious consumers can continue to indulge at their favorite eateries.
