Young children in Beijing should be proud of their bold and innovative idea: they successfully launched an environmental protection campaign at one of the country's most important political events.

On their request, the annual sessions of China's top legislature and political advisory body used notebooks made of recycled paper for the first time in history this year.

The notebooks were handed out to about 5,000 participants at the second sessions of the 10th National People's Congress (NPC) and 10th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

Each notebook has the commonly-used logo for recycled products - three clockwise arrows - and the Chinese characters for "recycled paper" printed on it.

The environment-friendly move, which seems like just a minor thing, may provide impetus for China's environmental protection drive.

Much of the credit should go to the 210,000 students from 63 primary and middle schools in the capital city participating in the effort, said Zhao Yong, a member of the CPPCC National Committee.

He said the Beijing students started a "Green Commitment Project" in 2001 to support the capital city's bid to host the 2008 Olympic Games.

Over the past three years, they collected about 88 tons of wastepaper and sold it for about 45,000 yuan (US$5,441), which was used to control 100 hectares of desertified land in Chifeng in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

The wastepaper collected by these students was later made into nearly 75 tons of recycled paper, said Zhao, who is also vice-chairman of the "Green Commitment Project."

He revealed that some of the recycled paper was once used by the Beijing Olympic Committee to make name cards, copying and typing paper.

Before the convention of the NPC and CPPCC National Committee meetings, the students wrote a letter to meeting organizers, expressing their hopes of donating 2 tons of recycled paper for the meetings.

In the letter, they also invited NPC and CPPCC National Committee members to join them in promoting consciousness about environmental protection.

"We ask you to advocate the use of more recyclable resources among the public and take more concrete steps to protect the environment and save resources," the letter said. Meeting organizers responded positively to the initiative and decided to make the recycled paper into notebooks to be given to each attendee along with a copy of the letter from the students.

Vice-Premier Zeng Peiyan thought highly of the move, which he said will inspire more people to devote themselves to the environment.

"Promoting the use of waste material and expanding the use of recycled paper will not only reduce the logging of trees to protect our living environment but benefit future generations," he said in a letter to students.

"I heartily hope the whole society will learn from you and join our efforts to build our motherland into a beautiful home with green hills and clear waters."

The secretariat of the NPC and CPPCC meetings also wrote a letter of thanks.

Yao Yang, a participant, appeared overjoyed at the acceptance of the idea.

"It's really an encouraging move for NPC deputies and CPPCC members to play a model role in making use of recyclable resources," said Yao, a 12-year-old student in the Beijing No 2 Experimental Primary School.

Given worsening pollution and ecological damage during the process of fast economic growth, environmental protection has grown more and more important to sustainable development.

China consumes 35 million tons of paper yearly but the recycling of 1 ton of waste paper is tantamount to saving 3 cubic meters of timber, 100 cubic meters of water or 1.2 tons of coal, according to statistics.

(China Daily March 11, 2004)