纽约的垃圾去哪儿了?

Where Does NY Garbage Go? 纽约的垃圾去哪儿了?

BROOKLYN, NY—

The population of our planet is growing, as are the piles of garbage that humanity is producing.  But where does all this garbage go?  It turns out that in New York City, trash is not a total nuisance - it can also be useful and sometimes even profitable.  

New York’s population is almost 8.5 million people.  And every day, every resident literally¹ leaves behind a pile a garbage.  Where does much of that trash go? To the Sims Municipal Recycling Facility in Brooklyn, which features the latest technology in garbage processing.

Every month, the facility processes 20,000 tons of metal, plastic and glass.  

The city’s recycling program encourages New Yorkers to sort bottles and cans into separate bags. City garbage collection services bring the bags here. But only about 20 percent of New Yorkers sort their garbage for recycling. Sims General Manager Tom Outerbridge says that's because of the city's diverse population and high turnover².

“All of these create challenges for recycling programs that you may not have in a more suburban³ homogenous⁴ society.  But given those challenges, the city does quite well," said Outerbridge.

This machine, called “Liberator," rips plastic bags apart and sends the contents to be sorted..  A huge magnet pulls out items that have iron in them and diverts them to a separate conveyor.  And this piece of equipment breaks glass that “floats” in another direction.

"Ballistic separators have panels inside that are moving like this.  Two dimensional things get walked up the panels, like paper, plastic bags, when three dimensional things, like bottles and cans, get rolled down the panels," said Eadaoin Quinn.

Optic scanners, which cost about $100,000, are the most technologically-advanced part of the process.  They are programmed to identify certain types of objects, like plastic water and milk bottles. When the scanner “sees” one, it signals dozens of air fountains on the conveyor belt, to blow it onto a separate conveyor.  

"We are working with materials that everybody says is garbage, but it’s recyclable things," said Marcus.

Sorted garbage arrives at the baler, which produces the facility's final product – pressed bales of plastic and metal, each weighing up to half a ton. Sims Recycling sells the bales to industrial plants where new bottles and cans are made for New Yorkers to use again.

"We are just making the Earth a better place.  We are helping⁵ each other survive.  I think that’s the best part," said Monica.

Sims also sets an example by its own environmental consciousness. It has solar panels on the roof and a wind turbine right in front of the entrance.  Together, they provide up to 20 percent of the energy needed for the plant's operations.

1 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

2 turnover   

n.人员流动率，人事变动率；营业额，成交量

参考例句：

• The store greatly reduced the prices to make a quick turnover.这家商店实行大减价以迅速周转资金。
• Our turnover actually increased last year.去年我们的营业额竟然增加了。

3 suburban   

adj.城郊的，在郊区的

参考例句：

• Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。
• There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。

4 homogenous   

adj.同类的，同质的，纯系的

参考例句：

• Japan is a wealthy,homogenous,developed nation with a stable political system.日本是一个富裕的同质型发达国家，政治体制稳定。
• My family is very homogenous and happy.我们这个家庭很和睦很幸福。

5 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。