塑料垃圾：海洋不能承受之重

As Jennifer Lavers of the University of Tasmania began her talk at Berlin’s Falling Walls conference in November, operatives from the city’s garbage contractor dumped a hundred 60-litre sacks of plastic waste around the stage.

去年11月，當(dāng)塔斯馬尼亞大學(xué)(University of Tasmania)的詹尼弗•萊弗斯(Jennifer Lavers)在柏林“Falling Walls”會(huì)議上開(kāi)始演講時(shí)，柏林垃圾承包商的工作人員把100包每包容量為60升的塑料垃圾傾倒在講臺(tái)周圍。

Speaking from behind the barrier of trash, the Australian marine ecologist told the audience: “This rubbish is equivalent to just two days of consumption by the [750] individuals in this auditorium.” Then she showed shocking photos she had taken on uninhabited Henderson Island in the south Pacific, one of the most remote places on earth.

這位澳大利亞海洋生態(tài)學(xué)家站在這堆垃圾后面告訴觀眾：“這些垃圾僅相當(dāng)于這個(gè)禮堂里的(750)人兩天的消耗量。”接著，她展示了她在南太平洋無(wú)人居住的亨德森島(Henderson Island)拍攝的令人震驚的照片，那里是地球上最偏遠(yuǎn)的地區(qū)之一。

Beaches that were covered with pristine sand in the 1990s are today littered with plastic debris, washed up from countries around the Pacific Rim and beyond — an estimated 37 million pieces, weighing 18 tonnes.

上世紀(jì)90年代覆蓋著原始沙礫的海灘如今遍布塑料垃圾，它們是被海浪從太平洋周邊國(guó)家以及更遠(yuǎn)的地區(qū)沖刷過(guò)來(lái)的，據(jù)估計(jì)有3700萬(wàn)件，重達(dá)18噸。

This is just the tiniest snapshot of our problem with plastics. Every year an estimated eight million tonnes of the material flow into the oceans. And, over the past few months, there has been a huge increase in public and political concern about this marine pollution, to a level where it is approaching climate change as an environmental issue.

這只是我們面臨的塑料問(wèn)題的冰山一角。據(jù)估計(jì)，每年有800萬(wàn)噸塑料流入海洋。近幾個(gè)月來(lái)，公眾和政界對(duì)海洋塑料污染問(wèn)題的關(guān)注度急劇飆升，使之成為一個(gè)快與氣候變化一樣重要的環(huán)境問(wèn)題。

In the UK, Sir David Attenborough’s TV series Blue Planet II has made a big impact, drawing attention to the harm done to creatures that become entangled in plastic or eat fragments that they have mistaken for real food. In one heart-rending sequence, Lucy Quinn of the British Antarctic Survey shows the plastic bags regurgitated by a wandering albatross chick on South Georgia. That bird is still alive but Quinn, close to tears, then shows the decaying corpse of another young albatross.

在英國(guó)，戴維•阿滕伯勒爵士(Sir David Attenborough)的電視紀(jì)錄片《藍(lán)色星球2》(Blue Planet II)產(chǎn)生了巨大影響，促使人們關(guān)注塑料垃圾對(duì)生物的危害，它們或者被塑料制品纏繞住，或者吞下誤以為是食物的塑料碎片。在一個(gè)鏡頭中，英國(guó)南極考察隊(duì)(British Antarctic Survey)的露西•奎因(Lucy Quinn)向人們展示了一個(gè)令人心碎的場(chǎng)景：在南喬治亞島上，一只神志虛弱的信天翁雛鳥(niǎo)試圖吐出被它吃進(jìn)去的塑料袋。這只小鳥(niǎo)還活著，但幾乎要哭出來(lái)的奎因接著展示了另一只小信天翁正在腐爛的尸體。

“Unfortunately there was a plastic toothpick that has gone through its stomach,” she says. “Something as small as that has managed to kill the bird. It’s really sad to see.”

“不幸的是，一根塑料牙簽穿透了它的胃，”她表示，“那么小的一個(gè)東西就能殺死這只鳥(niǎo)?？吹竭@一幕我真的很傷心。”

While many people have only recently become aware of the global plastic pollution crisis, others have been wrestling with it for years. One such is Mandy Barker, the Leeds-based photographer whose images illustrate this article. “I grew up in Hull and spent a lot of time on Spurn Point nature reserve,” she says. “Returning each year, I was shocked to find the amount of rubbish building up there.”

很多人都是最近才認(rèn)識(shí)到全球塑料污染危機(jī)，但還有一些人已為此斗爭(zhēng)多年。英國(guó)利茲市(Leeds)的攝影師曼迪•巴克爾(Mandy Barker)就是其中之一，本文配圖采用了她的照片。“我是在赫爾(Hull)長(zhǎng)大的，在Spurn Point自然保護(hù)區(qū)度過(guò)很多時(shí)間，”她說(shuō)，“每年回去，我都會(huì)因?yàn)榭吹侥抢锒逊e的垃圾數(shù)量之多而感到震驚。”

Since emerging as a professional photographer in 2011, Barker has focused her work on plastic pollution, drawing material from beaches and harbours around the world and from a voyage to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch — an ocean current that traps exceptionally large amounts of floating debris. Her approach is to reveal unexpected beauty in plastic pollutants, which she often photographs as if they were rare and precious sea creatures. “I want to stimulate an emotional response in the viewer, using the contradiction between an initial aesthetic attraction to the images and a subsequent awareness of the harm these objects are doing,” Barker says.

2011年成為專業(yè)攝影師以后，巴克爾把工作聚焦于塑料污染，她到全球各地的海灘和港口找素材，還專門去過(guò)一次“太平洋垃圾帶”(Great Pacific Garbage Patch)——這個(gè)海洋環(huán)流滯留著數(shù)量特別巨大的漂浮垃圾。她的做法是展示塑料污染物的意外之美，她會(huì)精心拍攝它們，就好像它們是珍稀的海洋生物。巴克爾表示：“人們一開(kāi)始被這些照片的美所吸引，隨后他們意識(shí)到這些東西正在造成危害，我希望通過(guò)這種反差，激起觀者的情感反應(yīng)。”

Richard Thompson, head of the International Marine Litter Research Unit at the University of Plymouth and a leading researcher into ocean plastics, was initially uncertain about Barker’s work. While he appreciated the “beautiful artistic representations of litter in the sea”, he was not sure what they added to the global plastic debate. But now he recognises their positive impact.

普利茅斯大學(xué)(University of Plymouth)國(guó)際海洋垃圾研究部(International Marine Litter Research Unit)的負(fù)責(zé)人理查德•湯普森(Richard Thompson)是海洋塑料方面的一個(gè)主要研究人員，他起初不能肯定巴克爾所做工作的意義。他理解這種“對(duì)海上垃圾之美的藝術(shù)表現(xiàn)”，但他不確定這會(huì)給全球塑料辯論帶來(lái)什么。但如今，他意識(shí)到了它們的正面影響。

While welcoming the new sense of urgency worldwide, Thompson is somewhat puzzled about why interest is surging now in an issue that has preoccupied him for so long. “There is a snowball effect, as media stories build on each other,” he reflects. “People who live far from the sea are beginning to realise that they share responsibility for marine litter.”

盡管湯普森對(duì)全球各地新近出現(xiàn)的緊迫感表示欣慰，但他多少也感到困惑，對(duì)于這個(gè)他潛心研究了多年的問(wèn)題，人們?yōu)槭裁船F(xiàn)在突然興趣高漲?“這里存在一種雪球效應(yīng)，眾多的媒體報(bào)道像滾雪球一樣，”他回憶道，“居住在內(nèi)陸的人們開(kāi)始意識(shí)到，他們對(duì)于海洋垃圾也有責(zé)任。”

Malcolm David Hudson, a marine ecologist at Southampton University, adds: “I think it is becoming clear to scientists and, increasingly, to the public that we are getting close to various tipping points within natural systems, as a result of plastics in the oceans.” Tipping points are sudden, substantial and sometimes unstoppable changes — for instance in key marine food chains — that would result from the cumulative effect of more subtle changes. For Lavers, the key point is that “the problem is building up so quickly that people can no longer deny its existence. That’s why we are talking about it now.”

南安普敦大學(xué)(Southampton University)海洋生態(tài)學(xué)家馬爾科姆•戴維•哈德森(Malcolm David Hudson)說(shuō)：“我認(rèn)為，科學(xué)家越來(lái)越清楚，公眾也日益明白，由于海洋中的塑料的緣故，我們?cè)絹?lái)越接近自然體系中的各種轉(zhuǎn)折點(diǎn)。”所謂轉(zhuǎn)折點(diǎn)就是突然、重大、有時(shí)不可阻擋的變化——例如，在關(guān)鍵的海洋食物鏈中所發(fā)生的變化——這些重大變化可能由更為細(xì)微的變化不斷累積而成。在萊弗斯看來(lái)，關(guān)鍵點(diǎn)在于“問(wèn)題迅速變得嚴(yán)重起來(lái)，人們不可能再否認(rèn)它的存在。這就是我們現(xiàn)在討論它的原因。”

While large pieces of plastic waste are all too visible on beaches and in the ocean, toxicologists are sounding an urgent alarm about the smaller fragments, known generally as microplastics, whose dimensions are measured in fractions of a millimetre. Many microplastics come from the disintegration of plastic debris but some are manufactured as “microbeads” to add a slightly abrasive character to health and beauty products, including toothpastes and exfoliating creams. “Nurdles” are another source; these are tiny pellets used to make plastic products, which find their way into the sea through spills and mishandling.

在海灘上和海洋中，大塊塑料垃圾當(dāng)然要顯眼得多，但毒物學(xué)家對(duì)體積更小的塑料碎片即“微塑料”發(fā)出了緊急警告，這種微塑料的直徑以毫米計(jì)算。許多微塑料是塑料垃圾破碎分裂而成的，還有些是人造的“塑料微珠”，被添加在包括牙膏、去角質(zhì)霜在內(nèi)的美容護(hù)理產(chǎn)品中，用于增加輕微的摩擦功效。“塑料球”是微塑料的另一個(gè)來(lái)源，這些小球被用于制造塑料制品，它們會(huì)因?yàn)⒙浜吞幚聿划?dāng)而進(jìn)入海洋。

Fish and birds eat microplastics, which often look like perfect bite-sized morsels of real food, by mistake. Inside the gut they act as poisons, both through their physical presence and because they release toxic chemicals — including internal molecules involved in the plastic manufacturing and external toxins such as DDT and PCBs — that they have absorbed in the sea.

魚類和鳥(niǎo)類會(huì)誤食這些大小看起來(lái)和真正食物沒(méi)什么差別的微塑料。微塑料進(jìn)入腸道后便成了毒物，不僅僅因?yàn)樗鼈兊拇嬖?，還因?yàn)樗鼈儠?huì)釋放出在海洋中吸附的有毒化學(xué)物質(zhì)(包括塑料制造過(guò)程中形成的微小顆粒以及滴滴涕(DDT)和多氯聯(lián)苯(PCBs)等外部毒素)。

Lavers carries out most of her research on Lord Howe Island, 600km east of the Australian mainland. She is particularly concerned about the flesh-footed shearwater, a seabird that forages for food on the surface of the Tasman Sea and inadvertently brings microplastics back to its chicks instead of the intended plankton.

萊弗斯的大部分研究都在澳大利亞大陸以東600公里的豪勛爵島(Lord Howe Island)上進(jìn)行。她尤其擔(dān)心肉足鹱，在塔斯曼海上覓食的肉足鹱會(huì)無(wú)意間把微塑料當(dāng)作浮游生物帶回去喂給雛鳥(niǎo)。

“When we started monitoring these birds more than a decade ago, the proportion containing plastic was already 70 per cent. Now it’s 100 per cent,” she says. “Every single bird on Lord Howe Island contains plastic.” Analysis shows that baby birds fed more plastic by their parents have shorter wings and poorer health.

“我們10多年前開(kāi)始監(jiān)測(cè)這些海鳥(niǎo)的時(shí)候，體內(nèi)含塑料的海鳥(niǎo)比例已經(jīng)達(dá)到了70%，現(xiàn)在是100%，”她說(shuō)，“豪勛爵島上的每一只海鳥(niǎo)體內(nèi)都有塑料。”分析顯示，雛鳥(niǎo)被父母喂食的塑料越多，翅膀長(zhǎng)得越短，健康狀況越差。

Lavers found 225 pieces of plastic in the stomach of one three-month-old chick, weighing 10 per cent of its body mass. That would be equivalent to an average human carrying about 6kg-10kg of plastic. “Imagine having to take your first flight out to sea with all that in your stomach,” she says. “Around the world, seabirds are declining faster than any other bird group.”

萊弗斯在一只3個(gè)月大的雛鳥(niǎo)的胃里發(fā)現(xiàn)了225塊塑料，占到其體重的10%。這相當(dāng)于一個(gè)普通人身上攜帶著大約6到10公斤的塑料。“想象一下，當(dāng)你第一次飛向大海時(shí)，胃里不得不攜帶著所有那些垃圾，”她說(shuō)，“在世界范圍內(nèi)，海鳥(niǎo)數(shù)量減少得比其他任何鳥(niǎo)類種群都快。”

The number of marine species — fish, mammals, birds and invertebrates – known to be adversely affected by plastic waste has risen from around 260 when the first assessment was carried out in 1995 to 690 species in 2015 and 1,450 now, according to Lavers.

萊弗斯表示，已知受到塑料垃圾不利影響的海洋物種——魚類、哺乳動(dòng)物、鳥(niǎo)類和無(wú)脊椎動(dòng)物——的數(shù)量在1995年首次進(jìn)行評(píng)估時(shí)約為260種，2015年上升到690種，現(xiàn)在是1450種。

Scientists at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh released research this month showing that the shores of Scapa Flow in the Orkneys contain as much microplastic pollution as the Clyde and Firth of Forth: about 1,000 tiny particles and fibres per kilo of sediment. “The fact that a relatively remote island has similar microplastic levels to some of the UK’s most industrialised waterways was unexpected – and points to the ubiquitous nature of microplastics in our water systems,” says Mark Hartl, the project leader.

愛(ài)丁堡赫瑞-瓦特大學(xué)(Heriot-Watt University)的科學(xué)家近期發(fā)布的一項(xiàng)研究報(bào)告顯示，奧克尼群島斯卡帕灣(Scapa Flow)的微塑料污染情況與克萊德河灣(Clyde)和福斯河灣(Firth of Forth)一樣嚴(yán)重：每公斤沉積物中含有約1000個(gè)微小顆粒和纖維。該研究課題負(fù)責(zé)人馬克•哈特爾(Mark Hartl)表示：“一座相對(duì)偏遠(yuǎn)的島嶼與英國(guó)一些工業(yè)化程度最高地區(qū)的河道擁有相似的微塑料污染水平，這一事實(shí)出乎意料——這意味著微塑料在我們的水體中已經(jīng)無(wú)處不在。”

Although there has been concern about eating seafood contaminated with microplastics, there is no evidence that consumption has reached levels likely to affect human health. Toxicologists remain more concerned about other harmful chemicals such as mercury in fish. “Microplastics are an insidious long-term problem,” Hudson says, “but we have to be careful not to promote scare stories.”

雖然人們一直擔(dān)心食用被微塑料污染的海鮮的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)，但目前沒(méi)有證據(jù)表明人類食用量已經(jīng)達(dá)到了可能影響健康的程度。毒物學(xué)家仍然更為關(guān)心其他有害化學(xué)物質(zhì)，比如魚類體內(nèi)的汞。“微塑料是一個(gè)長(zhǎng)期隱患，”哈德森說(shuō)，“但我們必須小心不能過(guò)度渲染，危言聳聽(tīng)。”

Dealing with plastics could have two parts: cleaning up what is already in the oceans (an estimated five trillion pieces of plastic, according to Lavers) and stopping more from getting in. Marine scientists, however, say the overwhelming priority must be prevention: cutting quickly the flow of those eight million tonnes every year — as much as half of it carried by rivers.

清除塑料垃圾大致包括兩部分工作：清理海洋中已經(jīng)存在的塑料(萊弗斯說(shuō)，據(jù)估計(jì)目前海洋中有5萬(wàn)億塊塑料)，以及阻止更多塑料進(jìn)入海洋。但海洋科學(xué)家表示，當(dāng)務(wù)之急是阻止塑料進(jìn)入海洋：迅速阻斷每年流入海洋的800萬(wàn)噸塑料——其中多達(dá)一半由河流帶入。

Although there is a role for removing plastics, from low-tech beach clean-ups to a high-tech proposal to extract the plastic floating in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, the pollution is dispersed too widely across the oceans for a large proportion to be removed in this way.

雖然清理塑料垃圾——從沒(méi)多少技術(shù)含量的海灘清理工作，到撈取“太平洋垃圾帶”上漂浮的塑料的高科技方法——可以發(fā)揮作用，但塑料污染物在各大洋中已是廣泛存在，很大一部分塑料垃圾將無(wú)法通過(guò)這種方式清除。

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation, a leading anti-waste charity, estimates that international clean-ups could not deal with more than 0.5 per cent of plastics entering the seas. “Yes there are technological clean-up solutions, like big mechanical booms sweeping around in the middle of the ocean,” says Thompson, “but there is a danger of us being distracted from the priority of stopping plastics getting into the oceans.”

艾倫•麥克阿瑟基金會(huì)(Ellen MacArthur Foundation)是一個(gè)主要的反垃圾慈善機(jī)構(gòu)，據(jù)其估計(jì)，國(guó)際清理工作處理的海洋塑料不會(huì)超過(guò)0.5%。湯普森說(shuō)：“是的，有采用技術(shù)手段進(jìn)行清理的做法，比如海洋中央轟鳴作響的大型機(jī)械。但現(xiàn)在的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)是，當(dāng)務(wù)之急是阻止塑料進(jìn)入海洋，而我們可能被分散了注意力。”

That means changing both consumer behaviour and product design — to discourage non-essential use of plastics, particularly for packaging, and making it far easier to recycle the plastics that are used. “Plastics are not the enemy,” Thompson adds. “They are wonderful materials. What matters is what we choose to do with them. It is not about doing without plastics but doing things differently.”

這意味著要改變消費(fèi)者行為和產(chǎn)品設(shè)計(jì)——以阻止非必要的塑料使用，特別是在包裝方面——以及讓廢舊塑料更易于回收。湯普森補(bǔ)充說(shuō)：“塑料不是敵人，它們是很好的材料。關(guān)鍵是我們選擇怎么用它們。不是不用塑料，而是要轉(zhuǎn)變做法。”

A growing army of environmental campaign groups, such as London-based OneLess, is demanding government action on plastics. Suggestions include clamping down on single-use plastics, such as water bottles and coffee cups, and facilitating recycling. This month has seen political anti-waste initiatives such as one by Theresa May, who promised to tackle “one of the great environmental scourges of our time” with a programme to eliminate plastic waste by 2042, and another by the EU to ensure that every piece of packaging is reusable or recyclable by 2030. Environmentalists say far more urgency is needed.

越來(lái)越多的環(huán)保組織要求政府采取行動(dòng)，比如總部位于倫敦的OneLess。相關(guān)建議包括限制使用一次性塑料制品，如水瓶和咖啡杯，并促進(jìn)回收利用。最近政界也提出了一些反垃圾倡議：英國(guó)首相特里莎•梅(Theresa May)提出一項(xiàng)消除塑料廢物的計(jì)劃，承諾到2042年解決“我們這個(gè)時(shí)代一大環(huán)境災(zāi)難”;歐盟計(jì)劃到2030年確保所有包裝都可重復(fù)使用或回收。環(huán)保人士說(shuō)，還需要采取更加迫切的行動(dòng)。

Thompson believes the biggest gains would come from compelling manufacturers to design recyclability into their products, transforming the traditional linear economy (make, use, dispose) into a “circular economy”. Where packaging is essential, it should be simple and easily identifiable, so that recycling plants with automated sorting machinery do not face a perplexing plethora of different materials mixed or bonded together.

湯普森認(rèn)為，最有效的做法是迫使制造商在產(chǎn)品中采用可回收設(shè)計(jì)，將傳統(tǒng)的“線性經(jīng)濟(jì)”(制造、使用和扔掉)轉(zhuǎn)變?yōu)?ldquo;循環(huán)經(jīng)濟(jì)”。其中包裝最為關(guān)鍵，它應(yīng)該是簡(jiǎn)單而且容易識(shí)別的，從而讓有自動(dòng)分揀機(jī)械的回收工廠不用處理混雜或者粘合在一起的各種材料。

While the personal-care industry is phasing out microbeads, concern is growing about another ubiquitous micropollutant: plastic fibres. Analysis shows these to be present in streams, rivers, lakes and seas worldwide, as well as household drinking water. Their main source seems to be clothing and textiles made from synthetic fibres, which become detached in washing machines and are not filtered out by water-treatment plants.

在個(gè)人護(hù)理行業(yè)逐步淘汰微珠的同時(shí)，人們?nèi)找鎿?dān)憂另一種幾乎無(wú)處不在的微型污染物：塑料纖維。有分析顯示，塑料纖維存在于世界各地的溪流、江河、湖泊和海洋以及居民飲用水中。它們的主要來(lái)源似乎是用合成纖維制成的衣服和紡織品，它們?cè)谙匆聶C(jī)中被分離出來(lái)，而且不會(huì)被水處理廠過(guò)濾掉。

Mandy Barker is so worried about plastic fibres that she is making them the focus of her next photographic project. Hudson, too, sees them as a greater threat than microbeads: “We have only recently realised that fibres from clothing might be important,” he says, “and there are other issues that are not really on the agenda yet, like plastics washing off roads from road markings and cars.” Even so, Hudson expresses optimism about the prospects for fighting plastic pollution. “Two years ago the whole issue was completely under the radar,” he says. “Now it is on the global agenda and everyone is talking about doing something about it.”

曼迪•巴克爾非常擔(dān)心塑料纖維問(wèn)題，并把它們作為下一個(gè)攝影項(xiàng)目的主題。哈德森同樣認(rèn)為塑料纖維比微珠的威脅更大，他說(shuō)，“我們最近才意識(shí)到來(lái)自服裝的纖維可能至關(guān)重要。還有其他一些問(wèn)題迄今還沒(méi)有真正列入議程，比如不要在道路標(biāo)識(shí)和汽車中使用塑料”。即便如此，哈德森對(duì)解決塑料污染的前景依然表示樂(lè)觀。他說(shuō)：“兩年前這個(gè)問(wèn)題還不在人們的關(guān)注范圍內(nèi)，但現(xiàn)在它已經(jīng)被列入全球議程，大家都在談?wù)撘鲂┦裁础?rdquo;

If Jennifer Lavers gives a follow-up talk several years from now, she may find a lower barrier of bags surrounding her on stage, as the war on plastic waste takes effect. But it will take decades before plastic debris stops defiling pristine beaches and poisoning marine wildlife. “When I go back to Henderson Island in a few years’ time, I’m afraid the pollution of its beaches will be even worse than today,” she says, “and the same will be true for all the world’s remote islands.”

如果詹尼弗•萊弗斯過(guò)幾年再做一次演講，她可能會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)，隨著清除塑料垃圾的戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)取得成效，堆放在講臺(tái)周圍的塑料垃圾可能會(huì)少幾袋。但是，讓塑料垃圾不再污染原始海灘、不再毒害海洋生物可能需要花費(fèi)數(shù)十年的時(shí)間。她說(shuō)：“幾年后我再回到亨德森島的時(shí)候，我怕那里的海灘污染情況會(huì)比今天還嚴(yán)重。全世界所有偏遠(yuǎn)島嶼都會(huì)一樣。”

Clive Cookson is the FT’s science editor 克萊夫•庫(kù)克森(Clive Cookson)是英國(guó)《金融時(shí)報(bào)》科學(xué)編輯