VOA标准英语2010年-Nigeria's Plastic Bag Dilemma

Divine Ntaryike | Douala, Cameroon
05 October 2010
Across Africa, plastic bags blemish¹ rural and urban scenery, damage ground water and soils, and choke livestock² and fish, entangle³ birds and threaten animals in general. They also block sewage pipes, turning them into safe havens⁴ for mosquitoes, which cause malaria⁵.

They're cheap and people don't give a thought to throwing them away, but it takes a thousand years for them to decompose⁶. When they do degrade, they break into small­ toxic⁷ particles that contaminate water and soils.

 

The UN Environment Program, UNEP, estimates that some four or five trillion plastic bags are manufactured worldwide every year, with only one percent being recycled.

Now Nigerian scientists are looking at ways to beat the scourge⁸ with biodegradable plastic bags.

The work is being done at the Biotechnology Advanced Laboratory in Abuja, a part of the government's Sheda Science and Technology Complex.

Researchers are working to embed⁹ biodegradable starch¹⁰ in polymers, which are used to make plastics. Next, they identify microbes that would feed on the starch and cause it to break down completely into organic material, which would then be assimilated back into the soil.

Prof Godwin Ogbadu is director of the Abuja-based Biotechnology Advanced Laboratory.

"In this case, he says, "the microorganism we have isolated¹¹ will use the polymer as its food and will dissolve it."

The Nigerian approach is not the only one. In South Africa, experts are developing plastic bags that dissolve into water and carbon dioxide in prolonged exposure to sunlight.

In Mali, experts are working using them to make paving stones.

Some governments are passing laws to ban or curb¹² the use of plastic bags. Several economists¹³ argue that restrictions¹⁴ will lead to unemployment and revenue loss, while others say it will save millions of barrels of oil used in producing plastic bags.

They also say there may be economic gains.

Dr. Shola Odusanya is deputy director on the Biotechnology and Genetic¹⁵ Engineering Laboratory, part of the Sheda Science and Technology Complex. He and his colleagues are working to reduce the amount of plastic waste with a process that breaks it down into powder. The Nigerian scientist says,

"The process involves using some proprietary¹⁶ solvents¹⁷ we want to keep secret because this is a potentially very big commercial project. One of the uses of this is water-repellent paint. Actually, one of our colleagues has developed paint based on this material."

Odusanya says the project will become marketable and will create new jobs. Litter bins¹⁸ for plastic waste will be set up nationwide, and people will be recruited to search through the dumps for plastics.

In some countries, like Cameroon, waste management systems are inadequate¹⁹ and environmental laws rarely enforced. In those cases, the approach is different. An eco-friendly artist, Nereus Patrick Cheo, has recruited an army of street children. Together they rake through foul-smelling refuse dumps for plastics, which Cheo transforms into flower jars, beads²⁰, statues and murals.

For now, the bulging²¹ heaps of abandoned waste, especially plastics, remain. And so environmentalists are hoping Dr. Odusanya's project will be successful and can be used by scientists in other parts of Africa.
 

1 blemish   

v.损害；玷污；瑕疵，缺点

参考例句：

• The slightest blemish can reduce market value.只要有一点最小的损害都会降低市场价值。
• He wasn't about to blemish that pristine record.他本不想去玷污那清白的过去。

2 livestock   

n.家畜，牲畜

参考例句：

• Both men and livestock are flourishing.人畜两旺。
• The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.暴雨和大水淹死了许多牲口。

3 entangle   

vt.缠住，套住；卷入，连累

参考例句：

• How did Alice manage to entangle her hair so badly in the brambles?爱丽丝是怎么把头发死死地缠在荆棘上的？
• Don't entangle the fishing lines.不要让钓鱼线缠在一起。

4 havens   

n.港口，安全地方( haven的名词复数 )v.港口，安全地方( haven的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Your twenty havens would back out at the last minute anyhow. 你那二十个避难所到了最后一分钟也要不认帐。 来自辞典例句
• Using offshore havens to avoid taxes and investor protections. 使用海面的港口避免税和投资者保护。 来自互联网

5 malaria   

n.疟疾

参考例句：

• He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。
• Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。

6 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。

7 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

8 scourge   

n.灾难，祸害；v.蹂躏

参考例句：

• Smallpox was once the scourge of the world.天花曾是世界的大患。
• The new boss was the scourge of the inefficient.新老板来了以后，不称职的人就遭殃了。

9 embed   

vt.把…嵌(埋、插)入，扎牢；使深留脑中

参考例句：

• The harpoon struck but did not embed.鱼叉击中了但并没有插入。
• This photo showed us how did the root of plant embed the soil deeply.这张照片显示植物的根是如何深入到土壤里去的。

10 starch   

n.淀粉；vt.给...上浆

参考例句：

• Corn starch is used as a thickener in stews.玉米淀粉在炖煮菜肴中被用作增稠剂。
• I think there's too much starch in their diet.我看是他们的饮食里淀粉太多了。

11 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

12 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

13 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

15 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

16 proprietary   

n.所有权，所有的；独占的；业主

参考例句：

• We had to take action to protect the proprietary technology.我们必须采取措施保护专利技术。
• Proprietary right is the foundation of jus rerem.所有权是物权法之根基。

17 solvents   

溶解的，溶剂

参考例句：

• It is resistant to borohydride reduction in alcoholic solvents. 在醇溶剂中，它不能被硼氢化物还原。
• Strains require special treatments for removal such as spotting with organic solvents. 要清除这些着色物质，需要特殊处理，例如：滴加有机溶剂。

18 bins   

n.大储藏箱( bin的名词复数 )；宽口箱（如面包箱，垃圾箱等）v.扔掉，丢弃( bin的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Garbage from all sources was deposited in bins on trolleys. 来自各方的垃圾是装在手推车上的垃圾箱里的。 来自辞典例句
• Would you be pleased at the prospect of its being on sale in dump bins? 对于它将被陈列在倾销箱中抛售这件事，你能欣然接受吗？ 来自辞典例句

19 inadequate   

adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的

参考例句：

• The supply is inadequate to meet the demand.供不应求。
• She was inadequate to the demands that were made on her.她还无力满足对她提出的各项要求。

20 beads   

n.（空心）小珠子( bead的名词复数 )；水珠；珠子项链

参考例句：

• a necklace of wooden beads 一条木珠项链
• Beads of perspiration stood out on his forehead. 他的前额上挂着汗珠。

21 bulging   

膨胀； 凸出（部）； 打气； 折皱

参考例句：

• Her pockets were bulging with presents. 她的口袋里装满了礼物。
• Conscious of the bulging red folder, Nim told her,"Ask if it's important." 尼姆想到那个鼓鼓囊囊的红色文件夹便告诉她：“问问是不是重要的事。”