环球英语 18 Plastic Bag Waste

　　Voice 1
Thank you for joining us for today’s Spotlight¹. I’m Joshua Leo.
Voice 2
And I’m Rebekah Schipper. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
In 1977 people began using a new, popular invention - the plastic bag. Clothes stores and food markets all over the world began giving plastic bags to people. Plastic bags were an easy way for people to carry their purchases.
Voice 2
But over the years the number of plastic bags has grown. And they have become a large waste problem. Plastic bags collect in the streets. The wind blows them through cities. Plastic bags are in the oceans. They can kill fish and birds. And plastic bags fill waste areas. Some waste materials can quickly decompose² back to natural soil. But plastic bags do not turn into soil as easily as other waste materials. Are plastic bags a waste problem in your area?
Voice 1
Today’s Spotlight is on plastic bags. Some people are trying to solve the problem of plastic bag waste. Their ideas are very creative. And, these ideas are easy for any person to try.
Voice 2
There is a website that lists facts about plastic and paper bags. It is called myownbag.com. According³ to this website people use fourteen trillion [14,000,000,000] plastic bags each year. It is true that many people like to use plastic bags. They do not weigh very much. They are strong. They can hold many things. Plastic bags can help make carrying your purchases easier.
Voice 1
But did you know it takes about one thousand [1000] years to break down one plastic bag? That is, it takes one thousand years for plastic material to return to a natural substance⁴.
Voice 2
That is why many people are concerned about plastic. Plastic bags do more than create waste. Creating plastic bags uses a lot of energy and oil.
Voice 1
Anita and Shaleb Ahuja are concerned. They live in a poor area of Delhi, India. The Ahujas help manage waste. In Delhi, plastic bags are a large problem. They collect in the streets. They block the pipes that empty the streets of rainwater. The Ahujas see that the amount of plastic waste increases each year. They say,
Voice 3
“We were already involved in waste management. We were getting a lot of plastic waste. That is when we decided⁵ (to try to solve) this big problem.”
Voice 2
Anita had an idea to reduce plastic waste. One day she met with a friend. Her friend was making a modern-looking handbag from cloth. She asked Anita to give her a piece of plastic. Anita’s friend used the piece of plastic as part of her cloth bag. That is when Anita had her idea. She could use old plastic bags. She could make new hand-bags from old plastic!
Voice 1
Anita and her friend made the first new handbag using many old plastic bags. First, they washed the plastic with water. Then they let the plastic dry. Next, they connected many pieces together with small, thin pieces of colourful rope. The end result was a very strong, colourful hand bag! These are bags that people want to use again and again. They have a very modern look.
Voice 3
“I showed (the handbag) to my friends. They liked it very much. That was the time that (I understood) that it (could work).”
Voice 2
So, the Ahujas started their own company called Conserve⁶. At Conserve they make new handbags out of old plastic bags. The company began small. But now, they employ three hundred [300] people! The employees⁷ walk through the streets and waste areas of Dehli. They collect wasted plastic bags. They collect thousands of bags a day! Then workers turn those bags into new modern hand bags.
Voice 1
Conserve has expanded over the years. Now the company turns plastic into many different things - paper holders⁸, shoe holders, storage⁹ boxes, and table covers. Conserve makes about one hundred fifty thousand [150,000] dollars a year.
Voice 2
The Ahujas are doing good work. They are cleaning plastic off of the streets. And they employ many of Delhi’s poorest people. Anita said,
Voice 3
“I am doing something that is useful. Polythene (plastic) bags block our (pipes). Cows eat them and get sick. By making them into hand bags, they get used. And unemployed¹⁰ people get jobs. I feel it is good for the city too. We are taking the waste off of the streets.”
Voice 1
Other people also have ideas on how to help end the problem of plastic bag waste. Reusablebags.com* is an Internet website that lists ways to re-use plastic bags. Here are some of the ideas that Spotlight found.
Voice 2
One person wrote that she and a friend used plastic bags to make a rope. They tied many bags together. They found that the rope was very strong. She said,
Voice 4
“After loading my car the back would not close. A man who was helping¹¹ me took a couple of plastic bags. He split¹² them. Then he tied the two pieces together. He used it as a rope to tie and hold the back of my car down. I thought this was so smart. Now I always carry plastic bags in the back of my car.”
Voice 1
Another woman wrote about how she uses plastic bags to help ban plastic bags. She lives in Australia. She collects plastic bags from off the streets. Then she connects them to herself. She calls herself the “Baglady.” She wears bags from head to toe. She tells people about the dangers of plastic waste.
Voice 2
Some countries, like Scotland¹³, have placed a tax on plastic bags. Now people do not receive them for free when they go to the store or market. They must pay for them. Many people do not want to pay for plastic bags. So, they re-use old bags. Some people carry other kinds of bags. These countries have reduced their plastic waste problem. Other countries have banned the use of plastic bags all together, like South Africa and Kenya.
Voice 1
There are many Internet websites that give ideas about ways to re-use plastic bags. But on those sites there are people who are against using plastic at all. They suggest carrying a cloth bag instead. Carry it to the store. Carry it to the market. People can use cloth bags again and again. Re-usable bags do not create waste.
Voice 2
Plastic bags are a waste problem that will not soon go away. But, people can help reduce waste. Do not be part of the problem. Be part of the solution instead. Re-use your plastic bags. Or, do not use them at all! Keep your community’s streets clean.
 

1 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

2 decompose   

vi.分解；vt.（使）腐败，（使）腐烂

参考例句：

• The eggs began to decompose after a day in the sun.鸡蛋在太阳下放了一天后开始变坏。
• Most animals decompose very quickly after death.大多数动物死后很快腐烂。

3 according   

adj.按照，根据

参考例句：

• According to the Bible we are all the seed of Adam.根据《圣经》所说的，我们都是亚当的后裔。
• We must cut our coat according to our cloth this year.今年我们必须学会量入为出。

4 substance   

n.物质，实质，主旨

参考例句：

• There isn't anything of real substance in her book.她的书中没有任何真正实质性的内容。
• How long will the substance take to salt out?这种物质需要多长时间来盐析？

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 conserve   

vt.保存，保护，节约，节省，守恒，不灭

参考例句：

• He writes on both sides of the sheet to conserve paper.他在纸张的两面都写字以节省用纸。
• Conserve your energy,you'll need it!保存你的精力，你会用得着的！

7 employees   

n.雇工，雇员( employee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She is always polite and considerate towards her employees. 她对待雇员总是客客气气，关心体谅。
• The company has a strict dress code—all male employees are expected to wear suits. 公司有严格的着装规定—所有男职员都要穿西服。

8 holders   

支持物( holder的名词复数 )； 持有者； （支票等）持有人； 支托（或握持）…之物

参考例句：

• Slaves were mercilessly ground down by slave holders. 奴隶受奴隶主的残酷压迫。
• It is recognition of compassion's part that leads the up-holders of capital punishment to accuse the abolitionists of sentimentality in being more sorry for the murderer than for his victim. 正是对怜悯的作用有了认识，才使得死刑的提倡者指控主张废除死刑的人感情用事，同情谋杀犯胜过同情受害者。

9 storage   

n.存储器，储藏，保管，库存，仓库

参考例句：

• How much will you have to pay the warehouse for storage?你得付多少仓库保管费？
• He is charging a storage battery.他在为蓄电池充电。

10 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

11 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

12 split   

n.劈开，裂片，裂口；adj.分散的；v.分离，分开，劈开

参考例句：

• Who told you that Mary and I had split up?谁告诉你玛丽和我已经离婚了？
• The teacher split the class up into six groups.老师把班级分成6个小组。

13 Scotland   

n.苏格兰

参考例句：

• He has been hiking round Scotland for a month.他围着苏格兰徒步旅行了一个月。
• Scotland is to the north of England.苏格兰在英格兰之北。