Is the recycling system broken

6 Minute English

语言学习

2020-05-28

6 分钟
PDF

单集文稿 ...

  • This is a download from BBC Learning English.

  • To find out more, visit our website.

  • Hello, this is Six Minute English from BBC Learning English.

  • I'm Neil.

  • And I'm Georgina.

  • Sorry I was late today, Georgina.

  • I'd forgotten to take the recycling bins out before the rubbish collection this morning.

  • I seem to have more and more plastic packaging each week.

  • Actually, that's the topic of our program.

  • With more and more household waste being either incinerated, that's burned, or being buried underground, we'll be asking, is the recycling system broken?

  • China used to accept 55% of the world's plastic and paper scrap, another word for unwanted waste, or in other words, rubbish.

  • That included waste sent over from Britain, but in 2018 it stopped taking any more.

  • Other countries like Indonesia and Vietnam took over China's waste processing role, but they too are now sending much of the scrap back, arguing it is contaminated and is

  • harming their own environments.

  • This has created major problems for countries in the West,

  • who traditionally relied on others to process their recycling waste.

  • And the problem isn't going in fact, we are creating more household waste than ever.

  • So here's my quiz question.

  • On average,

  • how many kilograms of household waste were generated per person in the UK last year?