This is the holiday
season1 in the United States. People are buying gifts2
and carrying3 them home, usually4
in plastic shopping bags5. They are only a small amount6
of the huge7 number of disposable8
plastic bags that are used all year long9 to contain
groceries10 and other items.
Janet Larsen directs
research for the Earth11 Policy12
Institute in Washington, D.C. She says
too many plastic bags end up as litter13, polluting
waterways14.
“They get caught15
in bushes16 and trees. In storm17
water systems, they end up clogging up18 sewers19.”
In an effort20 to keep21
plastic bags out of the environment22, California
recently became23 the first state to ban24
businesses from giving new plastic bags to customers25.
Some other states and
cities charge26 a small amount of money for every bag given
out27. That is
meant to28 encourage people to bring their own bags when
they go shopping.
Mark Daniels is senior
vice president for environmental policy29 at Hilex
Poly, one of the country’s largest plastic bag manufacturers30
and recyclers31.
He says people should be able to get32 new
plastic bags without paying33. Mr.Daniels says they are a good environmental
choice34.
“Every single35
scientific litter study that has been done36 always
show that plastic retail37 are a fraction of one
percent.” Some environmentalists claim that38 plastic
bags are clogging landfills39. However40,
Mark Daniels points to41 a study by the Environmental
Protection Agency that says that is not always true. “All plastic bags, not
just retail bags, are 4/10ths of one percent the waste stream42.”
Five years ago,
Washington D.C. placed a 5-cent fee43 on every plastic
bag given out by businesses in the city. The money is being used44
to clean up the local Anacostia watershed45.
And the effort is making
a difference. Brian Van Wye heads46 storm water program
implementation at the city’s Department of the Environment. He says once47
people started to pay for plastic bags, they used less of them. Fewer48
bags ended up in the waterways49.
“The stream50
clean-up groups51 are telling us that they’ve seen a
60 percent reduction in the disposal bags52 that they
find while they’re doing stream cleanups.” He also says that’s helping to save
water life. “We also know that plastic bags, they break down over time53. It's something aquatic life will consume and
ingest and that can cause serious harm54 and potentially
death for aquatic life like fish and turtles55.”
But customers56
who say they need shopping bags aren’t always happy about paying for them. At a Washington restaurant, Bill Ford says he
has to use a bag to carry out his lunch57.
“I don’t know why some
people need to pay because, some people, a small minority of people are throwing
stuff58 into rivers and waterways.”
Still, Carol Powers, who
also paid for a bag, approves of Washington’s program.
“It seems kind of
silly59 to pay five cents for a bag, but if that’s
what it takes60 to help save the environment61,
then it’s a good idea.” Hilex Poly and other manufacturers62
are recycling the bags. Mark Daniels says that is a better alternative than
taxing or banning them.
“We reprocess it, we
clean it, we shred63 it, we make new post-consumer recycle
product and put that back64 into the manufacturing of
new bags.”
But Janet Larsen of the
Earth Policy Institute doesn’t think that’s the answer.
“The plastic bag industry
has often used recycling as a deterrent65 for communities
that, even when66 residents are saying, we want to
limit these. It really doesn’t help to
minimize the problems. What we would advocate67 for would
be a washable68, reusable69
bag to take the place of70 all those plastic bags.”
Bags like the one Carol
Chastang uses to carry her lunch…
“This is my contribution
to keeping the environment cleaner and safer.”
More than 18 million
Americans now live in communities that tax or ban plastic bags, and that number
is expected to go up again next year.
I’m Anne Ball.
1. holiday season =
temporada de férias
2. buying gifts = comprando
presents
3. carrying = carregando,
transportando
4. usually = normalmente
5. shopping bags = sacolas
de compras
6. small amount = pequena
quantia
7. huge = imenso
8. disposable = descartável
9. all year long = o ano
todo
10. contain groceries =
conter mantimentos
11. Earth = Planeta Terra
12. Policy = Política,
diretrizes
13. end up as litter = acabam como lixo
14. polluting waterways =
poluindo hidrovias
15. get caught = ficam presas
16. bushes = arbustos
17. storm = tempestade
18. clogging up = entupindo
19. sewers = esgotos
20. effort = esforço
21. keep = manter
22. out of the environment =
fora do meio ambiente
23. became = tornou-se
24. ban = proibir
25. customers = clients
26. charge = cobram
27. given out = dado(a)
28. is meant to = tem o proposito de
29. environmental policy =
politica ambiental
30. manufacturers =
fabricantes
31. recyclers = recicladores
32. should be able to get =
deveriam ser capazes de conseguir
33. without paying = sem
pagar
34. choice = escolha
35. single = único(a)
36. has been done = tem sido
feito
37. retail = varejo
38. claim that = afirmam que
39. landfills = aterros
40. However = contudo
41. points to = aponta para
42. waste stream = fluxo de
resíduos
43. fee = taxa
44. is being used = está
sendo usado
45. watershed = bacia
hidrográfica
46. heads = comanda
47. once = uma vez que
48. Fewer = menos
49. ended up in the waterways = Terminavam nas
hidrovias
50. Stream = córrego
51. clean-up groups = grupos
de limpeza
52. disposal bags = sacos de
eliminação
53. break down over time = desfazem-se ao longo do
tempo
54. harm = dano
55. turtles = tartarugas
56. customers = clientes
57. carry out his lunch =
transporter seu almoço
58. throwing stuff = jogando
coisas
59. It seems kind of silly =
parece um tanto bobo
60. if that’s what it takes = se é isso o que se
precisa
61. environment = meio
ambiente
62. manufacturers = fabricantes
63. shred = retalhar
64. put that back = colocar
de volta
65. deterrent = impedimento
66. even when = mesmo quando
67. advocate = defender
68. washable = lavável
69. reusable = reutilizável
70. take the place of = tomar
o lugar de
