Beijing, Jan 21 (IANS) Food waste comprises roughly 70 percent of China’s garbage.

“While you often hear Chinese parents tell their kids to not waste food, the fact is food waste accounts for about 70 percent of the mounting garbage production,” the China Daily reported.

“That’s compared to less than 20 percent in many developed countries, where sorting and processing have been the norm since the 1980s,” it said.

Expert Ren Lianhai said: “China has a long way to go in terms of better disposal because it lacks a national policy, scientific management and processing methods.”

In Beijing, households produce 11,000 tonnes of kitchen waste, plus the 2,500 tonnes that spew out of restaurants, a day.

But the municipality’s three large-scale processing plants can only handle 800 tonnes a day of food waste.