VOA慢速英語：印度開始在全國范圍內(nèi)禁止使用一次性塑料

VOA慢速英語：印度開始在全國范圍內(nèi)禁止使用一次性塑料

India banned some single-use or disposable plastic products recently as part of a plan to slowly discontinue the use of the material in the South Asian nation.
印度最近禁止了部分一次性塑料產(chǎn)品，作為在這個南亞國家逐步開展禁塑計劃的一部分。
 
For its first step in the plan, the federal government has identified 19 plastic products that are not very useful but have a high possibility of becoming waste. It is illegal to produce, import, keep, give them out, or sell them.
作為該計劃的第一步，聯(lián)邦政府已經(jīng)確定了19種塑料制品，它們不是很有用，但很有可能變成廢物。生產(chǎn)、進(jìn)口、保存、分發(fā)或出售它們都是違法的。
 
These products include cups, straws, and ice cream sticks made from plastic. Some disposable plastic bags will also be banned and replaced with thicker, reusable ones.
這些產(chǎn)品包括由塑料制成的杯子、吸管和冰淇淋棒。部分一次性塑料袋也將被禁止使用，取而代之的是更厚、可重復(fù)使用的塑料袋。
 
Thousands of other plastic products, like bottles for water or bags for foods like chips, are not covered by the ban. But the federal government has set targets for manufacturers to be responsible for recycling or disposing of them after their use.
數(shù)以千計的其他塑料產(chǎn)品，如飲料瓶和薯片包裝袋等塑料制品不在禁止范圍。但聯(lián)邦政府已經(jīng)為制造商設(shè)定了回收或處置目標(biāo)。
 
Plastic manufacturers had appealed to the government to delay the ban. They said inflation and possible job losses are a concern. But India's federal environment minister Bhupender Yadav told the media at a meeting in New Delhi that the ban had been in progress for a year.
塑料制造商呼吁政府推遲禁令，他們說此舉可能會導(dǎo)致通貨膨脹和失業(yè)。但印度聯(lián)邦環(huán)境部長潘達(dá)·亞德夫在新德里的一次會議上告訴媒體，該禁令已經(jīng)實施了一年。
 
"Now that time is up," he said.
“現(xiàn)在是時候了。”他說。
 
This is not the first time that India has considered a plastic ban. Previous bans have centered in some areas of the country with different degrees of success.
這不是印度第一次考慮禁塑。以前的禁令集中在某些地區(qū)，取得了不同程度的成功。
 
A nationwide ban that includes not just the use of plastic, but also its production and importation was a "definite boost," said Satyarupa Shekhar. A "definite boost" means a clear improvement. Shekhar is the Asia-Pacific area adviser for the organization Break Free from Plastic.
薩蒂亞魯帕·謝哈爾說，一項全國性的禁令不僅包括塑料的使用，還包括塑料的生產(chǎn)和進(jìn)口，這是一個“明顯的改善”。“Definite boost”意思是明顯的改善。謝哈爾是“脫離塑料”組織的亞太地區(qū)顧問。
 
Most plastic is not recycled around the world. The materials pollute the world's oceans, affect wildlife, and turn up in drinking water. And scientists are still trying to understand the risks from very small pieces of plastic, known as microplastics.
世界各地的大多數(shù)塑料都沒有回收利用。這些材料污染了世界海洋，影響了野生動物，并出現(xiàn)在飲用水中?？茖W(xué)家們?nèi)栽谠噲D了解非常小塊塑料(稱為微塑料)的風(fēng)險。
 
The country's waste management system cannot handle its growing cities and villages. It means that much of the waste is not recycled and ends up polluting the environment. Our World in Data found that nearly 13 million metric tons of plastic waste were either thrown out or not recycled by the nation of nearly 1.4 billion people in 2019.
該國的廢物管理系統(tǒng)無法應(yīng)對其不斷發(fā)展的城市和村莊。這意味著大部分廢物沒有得到回收，最終污染了環(huán)境。“數(shù)據(jù)看世界”發(fā)現(xiàn)，2019 年，這個擁有近14億人口的國家有近1300萬噸塑料垃圾被丟棄或未回收。
 
Ravi Agarwal is the director of Toxic Link, a New Delhi-based group that supports waste management. Agarwal said the ban was a "good beginning," but its success will depend on how well it is carried out. The actual enforcement of the law will be in the hands of individual states and cities.
拉維·阿加瓦爾是總部位于新德里的支持廢物管理的組織Toxic Link的負(fù)責(zé)人。阿加瓦爾說，這項禁令是一個“好的開始”，但它的成功將取決于它的執(zhí)行情況。該禁令的實際執(zhí)行將掌握在各個州和城市手中。
 
Government officials said they banned products that could be replaced by other materials, such as bamboo spoons, plantain trays, and wooden ice-cream sticks. But in the days leading up to the ban, many food sellers said they did not fully understand.
政府官員表示，他們禁止使用可以被其他材料替代的產(chǎn)品，例如竹勺、芭蕉盤和木制冰淇淋棒。但在禁令出臺前的幾天里，許多食品銷售商表示他們并不完全理解。
 
Moti Rahman sells vegetables in New Delhi. He said customers would carefully pick out fresh summer produce before he put them in a plastic bag.
莫蒂·拉赫曼在新德里賣菜。他說，顧客會仔細(xì)挑選新鮮的夏季農(nóng)產(chǎn)品，然后再將它們放入塑料袋中。
 
Rahman said that he agrees with the ban. But he added that if plastic bags are banned without a cost-effective replacement, his business will be affected.
拉赫曼說他同意禁令。但是，如果塑料袋在沒有更優(yōu)替代品的情況下被禁止，他的生意就會受到影響。
 
Rahman said, "After all, plastic is used in everything."
拉赫曼說：“畢竟，塑料用于一切。”
 
I'm Gregory Stachel.
格雷戈里·斯塔切爾報道。