Frugal Society: A New Goal

By staff reporter LUO YUANJUN

The last drop of water in the world might be your tear.

Environmentally friendly cistern has capacity of just 1 liter.

Farmers in Liaocheng, Shandong Province have installed solar energy heaters.

Domestic oil prices remain high.

Paper mill recycling waste paper.

Primary school students in Shanghai pass on books to younger children.

The slogan “Building a Frugal Society” has been a regular feature in the Chinese media since last July. Zhang Mou, an elderly resident in Beijing’s Xicheng District remarks, “I haven’t heard such talk for years! It seems to me that youngsters these days don’t know the meaning of the word ‘frugal’. Our country is not wealthy, and even if it were, we should not forget our miserable past. Thrift and frugality should always be at the forefront of the Chinese mindset.”

Thrift in Action

One fine August morning, Zhang Mou’s neighborhood committee paid him a visit, armed with a roll of plastic rubbish bags and a notice on how to use them. After reading the notice, Zhang headed for the grocery store, where he bought three small bins and labeled them “recyclables,” “kitchen waste” and “miscellaneous.”

He then volunteered to work for the neighborhood committee, helping them to promote the concept of recycling. Zhang Mou is not alone. A large number of citizens advocate frugality and actively promote the concept. A citizen from Beijing’s Fengtai District named Wang Zixin invested everything he owned in setting up China’s first waste battery treatment plant in 1999. He may often be spotted riding a tricycle and battery bin trailer around the city. One button-sized battery can render some 600 tons of water undrinkable, and Beijing eats through 4,840 tons of batteries every year. But just 200 tons, or less than 5 percent, are disposed of in the correct way.

Wang Zixin travels around the city holding frequent waste battery exhibitions that have attracted a total of 100,000 visitors. Four years ago, he established the Green Star Waste Battery Volunteer Service Team. Its 6,000 volunteers promote waste battery recycling throughout the country.

Government organizations have also played an active role in promoting frugality. The CPC Central Committee and the State Council stipulate that their offices at various levels must not run their air conditioners at temperatures below 26 degrees Celsius in summer. Other energy-saving measures such as killing the air conditioner an hour before the office closes, using energy-efficient light bulbs, and reducing the use of elevators are also encouraged. The Beijing municipal government has informed its employees that they needn’t wear suits and ties for internal meetings and domestic activities during China’s hottest months of July and August.

Last August 14, the State Development and Reform Commission and CCTV jointly launched the “Nationwide Thrift Action” campaign. Relevant state departments issued new regulations and standards on frugality, and the 18 Chinese enterprises that are listed among the world’s top 500 immediately signed commitments to exercise thrift.

Thrift Urgency

Though frugality is nothing new in China, it is far removed from that practiced in the days of Mao Zedong, when China was pressed by material and commodity shortages. Back then, people were encouraged to wear a garment as “a new for three years, old for another three years, and patched for three more years.” With the much-improved conditions in today’s China, frugality is about making the best use of resources rather than containing consumption.

China’s demand for resources and energy has surged along with the country’s rapid economic development. To realize its objectives of quadrupling the GDP by 2020, enhancing its sustainable development capability, and building a well-off society, China must reduce its resource consumption, improve resource utility efficiency, and build a thrifty society.

China’s iron and steel industry provides a good example. Although the country’s steel output is the highest in the world, only a handful of its 1,000 steelworks practice economy of scale. Hundreds of small iron and steel factories are inefficient in their use of raw materials and energy. Many other industries have similar problems, with the result that China’s energy use per unit of GDP is far higher than the average in developed nations.

Waste is not confined to an inefficient use of material resources. It also arises from the irrational allocation of investment and resources and the colossal amount of superfluous government meetings and documents.

Chance for Energy-saving Products

Which brand of air-conditioner sells best last summer? The answer is: the most energy-efficient. This principle also applies to the auto market, in which low oil consumption and small displacement cars are paramount.

According to Zhou Dadi, president of the Energy Research Institute under the State Development and Reform Commission, there is huge potential for energy-saving products, from large commodities, such as houses, cars and electrical appliances, to small daily-use goods. Building a frugal society is not possible without frugal products.

There is no rational consumption pattern in China, as regards consumer mentality and orientation. Many spenders follow the consumption patterns of the wealthy minority in developed countries. For example, commercial apartments in Beijing are usually around 150 square meters in area and need a massive amount of energy for lighting, heating and air-conditioning. Progress, however, has been made in recent years as regards resource-saving products, such as cisterns with a flushing capacity of twelve, nine and even three liters that are now widely available on the market.

“Building a frugal society is a long-term task which requires a down-to-earth attitude and steady, unremitting efforts,” says Zhou Dadi. The same applies to developing energy-saving products. Old energy savers become outdated and need constant improvement and upgrading to meet new demands. Zhou Dadi believes that frugal consumption and related products have great prospects in China.