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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
There is a growing problem of what to do with electronic waste such as old televisions, computers, radios, cellular telephones and other electronic equipment.
现在有一个日益严重的问题，这就是如何处理废旧电视机、电脑、收音机、手机和其它电子产品。
Electronic trash, known as e-waste, is piling up faster than ever in American homes and businesses. People do not know what to do with old televisions or computers so they throw them in the trash.
电子废料在美国家庭和公司里日益增多。人们不知道如何处理旧电视机或电脑，因此，他们就把这些旧东西扔倒垃圾里。
National Solid Wastes Management Association state programs director Chaz Miller says the large amount of electronic waste Americans generate is not unexpected.
美国全国固体废料管理协会的州项目主任查兹·米勒说，美国人生产出大量的电子垃圾废物并不出人意料。
"We have so many electronic products that we use," said Miller. "They are being far more widely distributed throughout the population of the country and they tend to have relatively short life spans. Cell phones that last two or three years, computers that last maybe two or three years before they get replaced."
“我们有如此之多的电子产品，在全国各地的人口中比以前要更广泛地分布开来。这些电子产品的使用寿命一般比较短。手机的寿命是两年到三年，电脑也是两三年就要更换。”
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates more than 400 million consumer electronic items are dumped each year, and there is a push by more states to ban the waste from landfills and create recycling programs.
美国环境保护署估计，每年有4亿件消费电子产品被丢弃。越来越多的州禁止把电子废料跟垃圾一起掩埋，而是规定要回收利用。
For example, as quickly as old electronics arrive at a recycling facility in Baltimore, Maryland they are torn apart and sorted for useable parts. Plant manager Mike Fannon says e-waste here is resold to other companies that further break down the components that are valuable.
例如，在马里兰州巴尔的摩市的一个回收工厂，废旧电器一运到那里就立即被拆卸开，把有用的部分挑选出来。工厂经理麦克·范农说，电子废料在这里处理之后卖给其他的公司，进一步分解有价值的部件。
"There are a lot of valuable metals that can be recovered and reused as opposed to just putting them in the landfill, and in certain components there are some materials that should not really be dumped in the landfill," Fannon explained.
他说：“有很多贵重金属可以回收再利用，而不是跟垃圾一起掩埋。一些部件里有些材料根本就不应当跟垃圾一起掩埋。”
Fannon says nearly 20 percent of electronic waste is recycled nationwide. Going back 13 years, it was only about six percent. Recycling rates continue to rise as more communities have banned electronics from landfills in an effort to keep e-waste toxins like lead and mercury out of garbage dumps. Many places have set up free drop off events where people can bring old items for recycling.
范农说，美国全国有将近20%的电子废料得到回收。13年前，只有6%的回收率。随着越来越多的地方禁止电子废料跟普通垃圾一道掩埋，以避免电子垃圾里铅和水银等有毒物质混入普通垃圾，电子废料的回收率持续上升。很多地方展开活动，挑选一定的日子让人们可以免费把废旧电子产品拿出来让人收走。
Fannon says some items like old electronic circuit boards will get shipped to Canada, while other parts will be shipped to countries in Asia.
范农介绍，有些东西，如废旧的电路板会运到加拿大，其他的部件则会运到亚洲。
"These will go off actually to a copper smelter and they will go to recover the copper which is in a lot out of the lines within the [circuit] board itself but at the same time they recover precious metals that are on the board," added Fannon. "There is gold plating on a lot of the material. There is silver. So all those precious metals are recovered in addition to the copper."
他说：“这些部件会放到化铜的熔炉里，可以回收铜。电路板包含很多铜。在回收铜的时候，还可以回收电路板上的其他贵重金属。很多部件有镀金，也有很多材料上有银。这些贵重金属就这样会跟铜一样得到回收。”
This year several states like Vermont imposed a ban on electronic waste in landfills. More than 25 other states have also adopted landfill bans, e-waste recycling programs or both. Chaz Miller says more can be done to boost electronic waste recycling.
今年，佛蒙特等好几个州禁止电子垃圾跟普通垃圾一道掩埋。还有至少25个州也实行禁止掩埋电子垃圾，或设立回收项目。米勒说，还需要做出更多的努力才能提高电子垃圾回收利用率。
"We can do much better than what is almost a 20-percent [e-waste] recycling rate," noted Miller. "I think clearly our goal should be to do as well with electronics products as say we do recycling newspapers."
“我们可以把电子垃圾回收率提到远远高于20%的水平。我认为电子垃圾回收率可以跟旧报纸回收率一样高。”
Waste management analysts say U.S. facilities can safely recycle items. Environmentalists maintain they can reduce the amount of electronic waste in landfills now by raising consumer awareness about the best ways to recycle e-waste.
垃圾管理业界的分析人士说，美国的回收工厂可以安全地回收利用电子垃圾。环保主义者则表示，他们可以通过提高消费者意识，让消费者知道回收利用电子垃圾的最佳途径，从而减少电子垃圾的总量。
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