Japanese government officials want to start using the millions of wooden chopsticks that go discarded each year as biofuel. The chopstick biofuel (chop-fuel, bio-sticks?)is seen as a way to reduce dependence on Middle East oil and lessen the impact of global warming. Japan imports virtually all of its energy resources including oil.

Each person in Japan (127 million) uses an average of 200 sets a year, meaning 90,000 tons of wood and bamboo is used every year just for one time use chopsticks! So how will they get all these sticks collected? Simple Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries plans to set up boxes to collect used chopsticks. You will walk past the trash can, past the recycling bin, and deposit you sticks in the chopstick box, simple.

The government hopes to turn the sticks into ethanol. If they are successful with chopsticks they may move onto other non-food feed stocks such as straw. The idea is to use something that they already have that is going to waste, in this way they hope to avoid driving up the cost of food crops such as soy and corn. Japans neighbor China has vowed to stop using one time use chopsticks over the coming year in order to have a more “green” Olympics.