"Waribashi," or disposable wooden chopsticks, are usually hated by environmentalists as a symbol of deforestation.
But Eco Media Foundation, an environmental group in Tokyo, is trying to encourage the use of waribashi -- in order to save forests.
Because many of the nation's forests are overgrown and need thinning, and the manpower to do this is limited because the process isn't profitable, EMF believes making chopsticks from this excess wood will not only reinvigorate the lumber industry but benefit those trees that are left standing by making their environment healthier.
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