減少塑料垃圾的簡單方法

減少塑料垃圾的簡單方法

Although recycling can help reduce the amount of garbage that ends up in landfills, waterways and ecosystems, only a few types of plastics can be recycled by most municipal governments. The fraction that does get recycled still requires a lot of energy and water which just isn’t a good proposition when it comes to single-use items. Plastic garbage that ends up in landfills and oceans take hundreds of years to degrade, and there’s increasing concern about the toxins they release into the environment.

盡管回收可以幫助減少垃圾填埋場、水道和生態(tài)系統(tǒng)中的垃圾數(shù)量，但大多數(shù)市政府只能回收很少的幾種塑料。回收利用的部分仍然需要大量的能源和水，當涉及到一次性物品時，這不是一個好的建議。最終被填埋在垃圾填埋場和海洋中的塑料垃圾需要數(shù)百年的時間才能降解，人們對它們釋放到環(huán)境中的毒素越來越擔憂。

But in our modern lives, plastic surrounds us and cutting it out can seem daunting. Below are some super easy ways to get started.

但在我們的現(xiàn)代生活中，塑料圍繞著我們，切斷它似乎令人生畏。下面是一些超級簡單的方法。

© Margaret Badore. Decorated tiffins. Margaret Badore. Decorated tiffins.

1. Bring your own shopping bag

自己帶購物袋

The usefulness of these thin and easily ripped bags is extremely limited, yet according to one estimate, somewhere between five billion and one trillion plastic bags are used each year around the world. Although free to shoppers, these bags have a high environmental cost and are one of the most ubiquitous forms of garbage. Bringing your own plastic bag is common but good environmental advice, such good advice that some governments implemented policies to encourage more people to do it. Disposable shopping bags have been banned in a number of cities, like San Francisco and Washington, D.C.

這些又薄又容易撕破的塑料袋的用途極其有限，但據(jù)估計，全世界每年使用的塑料袋在50億到1萬億之間。雖然對購物者是免費的，但這些袋子的環(huán)境成本很高，是最普遍的垃圾形式之一。自帶塑料袋是很常見的，也是很好的環(huán)保建議，因此一些政府實施了政策鼓勵更多的人這樣做。一些城市已經(jīng)禁止使用一次性購物袋，比如舊金山和華盛頓特區(qū)。

2. Stop buying bottled water

停止購買瓶裝水

Unless there’s some kind of contamination crisis, plastic water bottles are an easy target for reducing waste. Instead, keep a refillable bottle handy.

除非有某種污染危機，塑料水瓶是一個很容易減少浪費的目標。相反，在手邊準備一個可重復使用的瓶子。

3. Bring your own thermos to the coffee shop

去咖啡店時自己帶保溫瓶

Speaking of refillable, bringing your own thermos for to-go coffee is another way to reduce your plastic footprint. Disposable coffee cups might look like paper but they’re usually lined with polyethylene, a type of plastic resin. In theory these materials can be recycled, but most places lack the infrastructure to do so. Then there are lids, stirrers, and coffee vendors that still use polystyrene foam cups—which can all be avoided with your own mug.

說到可重復使用，自帶保溫瓶裝外帶咖啡是減少塑料足跡的另一種方式。一次性咖啡杯可能看起來像紙，但它們的內(nèi)襯通常是聚乙烯，這是一種塑料樹脂。理論上，這些材料可以回收利用，但大多數(shù)地方缺乏這樣做的基礎(chǔ)設施。還有杯蓋、攪拌器和咖啡攤販仍然使用聚苯乙烯泡沫杯——這些都可以用你自己的杯子避免。

4. Choose cardboard over plastic bottles and bags

選擇紙板而不是塑料瓶和塑料袋

Generally speaking, it’s easier to recycle cardboard than plastic, plus paper products tend to biodegrade more easily without adding a lot of weight to the product the way glass or aluminum can. So, when you have the choice, pick pasta in the box instead of pasta in a bag, or detergent in the box instead of the bottle. Even better would be to check for companies that source their cardboard sustainably or have a strong stance on deforestation.

一般來說，紙板比塑料更容易回收，再加上紙制品往往更容易生物降解，而不會像玻璃或鋁那樣增加產(chǎn)品的重量。所以，當你可以選擇的時候，選擇盒裝的意大利面而不是袋裝的意大利面，或者選擇盒裝的洗滌劑而不是瓶裝的。更好的方法是檢查那些以可持續(xù)的方式使用紙板的公司，或者對砍伐森林持強硬立場的公司。

5. Say no to straws

對吸管說不

Whether for home use or when you’re ordering a drink at a bar or restaurant, plastic straws are often a single-use item that's just not necessary.

無論是在家里使用，還是在酒吧或餐館點飲料時，塑料吸管通常是一次性的，沒有必要使用。