Bagasse Pulp Tableware Exports Accelerate: Wenzhou's Shipments to the US Hit US$12.647 Million

Inside the paper tableware workshop of Wenzhou Sanxing Eco-Friendly Packaging Co., Ltd., no one reaches a work station before completing the same routine in order: changing into work clothes, washing hands, dust removal and ultraviolet disinfection. A reporter visiting the plant yesterday learned that paper tableware cleared by entry-exit inspection and quarantine authorities in Wenzhou has totaled US$12.647 million in export value since the start of this year, a year-on-year rise of 58.64%, with shipments going to the United States.

Domestic companies in the eco-friendly paper tableware export trade are mainly based in Guangdong and Shandong, according to reports. In Wenzhou, only two firms currently produce and export this product category — Sanxing Eco-Friendly Packaging and Wenzhou Keyi Eco-Friendly Tableware Co., Ltd. The tableware is processed from natural sugarcane pulp and other grass fibers, degrades naturally, and is well received by American users.

The pulp board itself is imported from Thailand and made from sugarcane pulp and reed pulp, both of which are degradable grass fibers.

Zheng Fuzhang, chairman of Sanxing Eco-Friendly Packaging Co., Ltd., said the company only began production this year and now operates four production lines with substantial daily output of paper tableware.

Before entering the manufacturing workshop yesterday, the reporter first had to change into white work clothes in the locker room, then wash and dry hands, and then walk through an enclosed air shower, where small holes on all four sides release a gentle breeze that removes dust from the body. The pulp is first shaped by a molding machine into hamburger boxes, fast-food containers, plates and other formats.

In the forming workshop, several molding machines were running busily, with employees in uniform clothing and gloves. Pointing at a molding machine, Zheng said it keeps producing paper tableware every minute; the formed items then pass through a slicing machine and a punching machine to become refined finished products, which are rushed straight to the inspection area, where every single box is carefully examined and none is allowed through unverified.

Zheng said employees mainly check for defects and color deviations, and that one employee inspects more than 10,000 boxes a day.

The entire process, from pulp raw material to the packing of paper tableware, has to be completed within a set number of hours. Inspected boxes are sterilized at high temperature in a sterilization cabinet before entering the final packing stage. To enter the packaging workshop, the reporter first had to pass ultraviolet lamp disinfection, a step mainly intended to ensure the products' microbiological indicators meet requirements.

For a small piece of paper tableware to be exported to the United States, it must meet the chemical and physical indicators required by the customer, and a hygienic, professional production environment is also a key factor when customers place orders.

Zheng said their customer is a large American paper tableware purchaser, and the products are mainly sold to wholesalers, schools and organic green supermarkets.