趣味英语：给我30天 戒掉塑料袋(组图)

　　毫无疑问，塑料袋让我们的生活变得方便快捷。然而，在享受这种便捷的同时，你是否也在制造着花费一百年都无法从地球上消失白色垃圾呢？

　　30-Day Plastic Bag Diet

　　30天塑料袋“节食”计划

　　◎ from www.bagonaut.com

　　译 / 珍宝猪

　　Please do not worry—this is not a fad1) diet to lose weight! Plastic bags have no nutritious value! This diet is about kicking the habit of excessively2) relying on plastic bags.

　　Plastic shopping bags are among the most widespread consumer items on Earth. Their light weight, low cost, and water resistance3) make them so convenient for carrying groceries, clothing, and other daily purchases that it's hard to imagine life without them. Weighing just a few grams and averaging a few millimeters in thickness, plastic bags might seem thoroughly harmless—were it not for the sheer4) number produced. Factories around the world churned out5) trillions of6) them every year.

　　Compared with paper bags, producing plastic ones uses less energy and water and leaves less air pollution and solid waste. Plastic bags also take up less space in a landfill. But many of these bags never make it to landfills; instead, they go airborne after they are thrown—getting caught in fences, trees, gutters, waterways, even the throats of birds. To avoid these impacts, the best alternative is to reuse your own durable cloth bags.

　　It’s okay to have a few plastic bags and to reuse plastic bags as much as possible. The goal is to simply use less of them. If you can reduce your usage down to only several plastic bags per year, then consider yourself a successful bagonaut7). Go 30 days applying the following steps, which will make it easy for you and in no time you will be doing it automatically!

　　Step 1: Round up !

　　The very first thing you want to do is to collect all of your plastic bags. You may want to keep a few for special occasions when plastic is helpful—all plastic bags are not bad—just using too many of them can be! Take the rest in for recycling.

　　Step 2: Choose Reusable Bag!

　　Purchase some good, reusable bags. A Single person needs about 2-3. A family will need more. You can buy a beginner bag and see if you like it first. There are a variety of bags available: canvas9), mesh10), nylon, hemp11), etc. What you want is a bag that works for you.

　　Make sure it is durable and easy to use. Tote12) bags are not recommended as they are generally too small and the material may not be suitable for heavy items. Avoid back packs, as well. Canvas bags can shrink even if washed in cold water. Bags with small pockets are good for receipts or shopping lists.

　　One good thing about reusable bags is that most have straps and can be easily thrown over your shoulder. Even when doing a lot of shopping at a mall you can carry your reusable bags over the shoulder rather then carrying them in your hands.

　　Step Three: Mission to Bag

　　Once you have your bags you will find that most fold neatly and easily in your closet or a kitchen cabinet. When shopping, give your bag to the cashier first before presenting the items. Everyone saves money when you reuse bags.

　　Step Four: Practice and Persistence

　　The key is action. Keep a few bags by the door, so you will remember to take them when you go out. Whether you go to the supermarket, drugstore, clothes shopping, or a convenience store, challenge yourself to have a reusable bag with you. If you get caught shopping without a reusable bag then shop old school—use your hands!

　　Step five: What Else?

　　Avoid using plastic bags as trash can liners. This is the number one excuse by people who say they recycle by using them as trash bags. Instead, buy trash bags that are designed to be biodegradable13). Leave your smaller trash cans or wastepaper baskets unlined and dump you trash directly into your large garbage cans or dumpster. If you have a large home and several waste paper baskets, then dump all of them into the outside can periodically14).

　　Once you have kicked the habit, consider giving a friend a reusable bag as a gift. Take the time to explain why you shop with reusable bags. You may find that when people understand the dangers of excessively using plastic, and what it is doing to our environment, they may go on the 30 day plastic bag diet themselves!