VOA慢速英语--美国公司推出“零浪费”购物模式

 

Environmental experts warn that our planet is drowning in plastic.

The world’s cities produce 2 billion tons of trash every year. By the year 2050, that number is expected to rise to 3 billion tons.

The World Bank estimates that the largest amount of trash today, about 44 percent, is plastic. This information comes from a 2018 World Bank report called Trends in Solid Waste Management.

But we often have to buy packaged goods. And often that packaging is made of plastic.

Now, that may be changing.

A new environmentally-friendly shopping model was recently launched at the World Economic Forum¹ in Davos, Switzerland. This shopping model, called Loop, aims to replace throwaway containers with reusable ones.

This is part of what some people call the zero-waste movement. The main belief driving this movement is that much of the trash we create is unnecessary.

Loop is the idea of TerraCycle, an American-based recycling company. Its chief, Tom Szaky, told the Associated Press (AP) that “removing plastics from the ocean is not enough.” He said the point is to get away from disposability and single-use packages.

An old idea is new again

Szaky said that Loop is the future of shopping. But it comes from an idea of the past.

He likened it to the “milkman model” of the 1950s in the United States. Back then, someone brought milk to your doorstep in glass bottles and then left with empty bottles. These could be cleaned and used again. The result is zero-waste.

Loop will work the same way.

Instead of throwing away or recycling a container, the product comes in a reusable one. When the product is all gone, someone will collect and clean the old container, fill it up and then return it to you.

At the start, Loop will offer about 300 products. Many of these include products that Americans use every day. And they come from some of the biggest names in business -- Procter & Gamble², PepsiCo, Nestle and Coca-Cola, just to name a few.

Proctor & Gamble makes many personal and health care products, such as soap, deodorants³ and diapers for babies. The company’s vice⁴ president and chief sustainability officer is Virginie Helias. She told the AP that the goal of Proctor & Gamble is to use all reusable or recyclable packaging by 2030.

Helias said that selling products on Loop is risky⁵ because no one else has tried it. She explained that Proctor & Gamble will start by selling 10 products on Loop as a test. If the results are good, more products will be added later.

Representatives from the environmental non-profit organization Greenpeace also joined in the discussion about Loop at Davos.

Jennifer Morgan is the group’s international executive⁶ director. She said that “Greenpeace welcomes the aim of the Loop Alliance⁷ to move away from throwaway culture and disposability.”

But Morgan questioned whether companies worldwide are ready to change their business models. Or, she wondered, is this an attempt for them to get good publicity⁸.

Loop is set to launch later this year in three eastern U.S. states, and also in Paris, France and some of the surrounding area. Then Loop plans to expand to the U.S. West Coast, Toronto, Canada and Britain by the end of this year or early 2020.

I’m Anna Matteo.

Words in This Story

trash – n. things that are no longer useful or wanted and that have been thrown away

packaging – n. the enclosing of something in a container or covering : packaged - adj.

recycling – v. to process (something, such as liquid body waste, glass, or cans) in order to regain⁹ material for human use

disposable – adj. designed to be used once or only a limited number of times and then thrown away

sustainability – adj. of, relating to, or being a method of harvesting or using a resource so that the resource is not depleted or permanently damaged

1 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

2 gamble   

n.冒险；v.赌博，孤注一掷

参考例句：

• Setting up this business was a bit of a gamble.开办这样的公司有点冒险。
• Drive carefully and don't gamble with your life.小心驾驶，别拿你的生命冒险。

3 deodorants   

n.（尤指去除体臭的）除臭剂( deodorant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The U.S. is already a mature market for its razors and deodorants. 美国已经是使它的刀片和除臭剂得到充分发展的市场了。 来自辞典例句
• Deodorants are available as aerosols or roll-ons. 除臭剂有喷雾装或滚抹装。 来自辞典例句

4 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

5 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

6 executive   

adj.执行的，行政的；n.执行者，行政官，经理

参考例句：

• A good executive usually gets on well with people.一个好的高级管理人员通常与人们相处得很好。
• He is a man of great executive ability.他是个具有极高管理能力的人。

7 alliance   

n.同盟，同盟国，结盟，联姻

参考例句：

• China will not enter into alliance with any big power.中国不同任何大国结盟。
• The new alliance was very much in evidence.新的联盟上星期很引人注目。

8 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

9 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。