Food waste at Chinese banquets is on the rise, survey finds

 Hong Kong - More a fifth of the food served up at Chinese banquets in Hong Kong ends up being thrown away, and the waste is increasing by the year, according to a survey released Thursday.

Environmental group Friends of the Earth examined a series of wedding and company banquets in the wealthy city of 7 million and found 22 per cent of the food went to waste. Only 62 per cent of noodles, 65 per cent of glutinous rice desserts and 67 per cent of fried rice was eaten by guests, although 99 per cent of roast pork was consumed, the group found. An estimated 3,280 tons of food waste a day is generated in Hong Kong and the amount is rising at the rate of around 10 per cent a year, Friends of the Earth said. The group appealed for people to waste less food by only ordering what they know they can eat. Restaurants should also take more care of how much food they put out on the table, the group suggested.