VOA慢速英语2016--植物纸浆让包装更环保

Pulp¹ from Plants Makes Packaging More Earth-Friendly 植物纸浆让包装更环保

The average American throws away about 84 kilos of plastic every year.

Much of that ends up in the ocean, according to the marine² research group Algalita. Almost half is thrown away after just one use.

And the plastic in the ocean does not go away. Instead, it breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces. Then the fish and other marine life eat it. That can make them become sick, or even die.

National Geographic³ reported in 2015 that there are 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic debris⁴, or trash, in the ocean.

Paul Tasner is an industrial engineer. He spent most of his career making plastic. He made “blister⁵ packs,” the plastic wrap around consumer products that are very hard to open, even with scissors.

The packs help protect products during shipping⁶, and help prevent goods from being stolen.

Then one day, Tasner had a moment that changed his life.

“My wife came back from a big box retailer⁷ with a pair of these industrial-strength shears⁸ for opening packages. That’s what is said on the package: you know, ‘For opening those hard to open plastic blister packages.” The shears were called, ‘Open it.’”

He says the funny -- and crazy -- part was that the shears to open the blister packs were packed -- in a blister pack.

This gave him an idea.

That idea was to create environmentally friendly, biodegradable packaging.

Tasner lost his job during the economic recession⁹ years ago. He was 64 years old and he did not want to retire. So he decided¹⁰ to start his own company.

His aim was to create a product that was similar to regular plastic, but able to be composted into soil. That means that when the product is put in the ground after use, it will break down quickly into the soil.

Regular plastic ends up in oceans or in landfills, where it can remain for thousands of years before breaking down into soil.

Elena Olivari is an architect. She has experience in engineering and design. She was looking for something new to do. She decided to join Tasner in his start-up —or new—business.

For Olivari, a family member’s death from cancer had a strong effect on her.

“There are links of plastic-related cancer, so even doing something that can reduce that number of people that are harmed by the plastic and reducing the amount of plastic in the world, which is becoming absolutely too big to deal with. We’re doing something that made me feel like, well, you know, even if we can make a small difference its better than nothing.”

Tasner and Olivari named their company PulpWorks. It launched in August 2011. They worked together to create a product called Karta-Pack to replace the plastic blister packs.

The PulpWorks website says that the company turns “garbage into safe, planet-friendly products.”

Tasner admits that the technology they use is not new.

Karta-Pack is similar to some kinds of egg cartons—the packaging that protects eggs in the store. Some egg cartons are made from recycled newspaper.

Karta-Pack is also made from recycled newspapers, as well as cardboard¹¹ and different kinds of agricultural fibers¹³, Tasner says. These are plant-based materials.

The company has six business partners in five countries that only use local material. Tasner says his partners in China use bamboo and sugar cane¹⁴. His business partner in Canada uses wheat straw. He uses all of these materials to create Karta-Pack packaging.

“So, by having a wide variety of geography, you have a wide variety of raw materials.”

Since it launched in 2011, PulpWorks has become a leader of “green” packaging. The company makes packaging for some of the biggest companies in the world, including T-Mobile, Burt’s Bees cosmetic¹⁵ products, Max Factor and Cover Girl cosmetics¹⁶, and Leapfrog toys.

“Every package that we produce replaces a piece of plastic that is not going into a landfill. What could be better than that? Except to do it a billion times over, really, and that’s our goal.”

The company plans to expand its use of local agricultural fibers to more countries and continents, including Africa.

Words in This Story

marine – adj. having to do with the sea or ocean

debris – n. trash

big box retailer – n. large store, part of a national group

shears – n. scissors, a tool to cut things with

biodegradable – adj. of a substance or object capable of being decomposed¹⁷ by bacteria or other living organisms

composte – n. decayed¹⁸ mixture of plants used to improve the soil

landfill – n. an area where waste is buried under the ground

architect – n. a person who designs buildings

fiber¹² - n. plant material made into thin threads

geography – n. an area of study that deals with the location of countries, cities, rivers, mountains, lakes, etc.

1 pulp   

n.果肉，纸浆；v.化成纸浆，除去...果肉，制成纸浆

参考例句：

• The pulp of this watermelon is too spongy.这西瓜瓤儿太肉了。
• The company manufactures pulp and paper products.这个公司制造纸浆和纸产品。

2 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

3 geographic   

adj.地理学的，地理的

参考例句：

• The city's success owes much to its geographic position. 这座城市的成功很大程度上归功于它的地理位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Environmental problems pay no heed to these geographic lines. 环境问题并不理会这些地理界限。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

4 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

5 blister   

n.水疱；(油漆等的)气泡；v.(使)起泡

参考例句：

• I got a huge blister on my foot and I couldn't run any farther.我脚上长了一个大水泡，没办法继续跑。
• I have a blister on my heel because my shoe is too tight.鞋子太紧了，我脚后跟起了个泡。

6 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

7 retailer   

n.零售商(人)

参考例句：

• What are the retailer requirements?零售商会有哪些要求呢？
• The retailer has assembled a team in Shanghai to examine the question.这家零售商在上海组建了一支团队研究这个问题。

8 shears   

n.大剪刀

参考例句：

• These garden shears are lightweight and easy to use.这些园丁剪刀又轻又好用。
• With a few quick snips of the shears he pruned the bush.他用大剪刀几下子就把灌木给修剪好了。

9 recession   

n.（工商业的）衷退（期），萧条（期）

参考例句：

• Manufacturing fell sharply under the impact of the recession.受到经济萧条的影响，制造业急剧衰退。
• A rise in interest rates plunged Britain deeper into recession.利率的提高导致英国经济更加萧条。

10 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

11 cardboard   

n.硬纸板，卡纸板

参考例句：

• She brought the shopping home in a cardboard box.她将买的东西放在纸箱里带回家。
• There is a sheet of stiff cardboard in the drawer.在那个抽屉里有块硬纸板。

12 fiber   

n.纤维，纤维质

参考例句：

• The basic structural unit of yarn is the fiber.纤维是纱的基本结构单元。
• The material must be free of fiber clumps.这种材料必须无纤维块。

13 fibers   

光纤( fiber的名词复数 )； （织物的）质地； 纤维，纤维物质

参考例句：

• Thesolution of collagen-PVA was wet spined with the sodium sulfate as coagulant and collagen-PVA composite fibers were prepared. 在此基础上，以硫酸钠为凝固剂，对胶原-PVA共混溶液进行湿法纺丝，制备了胶原-PVA复合纤维。
• Sympathetic fibers are distributed to all regions of the heart. 交感神经纤维分布于心脏的所有部分。

14 cane   

n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的

参考例句：

• This sugar cane is quite a sweet and juicy.这甘蔗既甜又多汁。
• English schoolmasters used to cane the boys as a punishment.英国小学老师过去常用教鞭打男学生作为惩罚。

15 cosmetic   

n.化妆品；adj.化妆用的；装门面的；装饰性的

参考例句：

• These changes are purely cosmetic.这些改变纯粹是装饰门面。
• Laughter is the best cosmetic,so grin and wear it!微笑是最好的化妆品，所以请尽情微笑吧！

16 cosmetics   

n.化妆品

参考例句：

• We sell a wide range of cosmetics at a very reasonable price. 我们以公道的价格出售各种化妆品。
• Cosmetics do not always cover up the deficiencies of nature. 化妆品未能掩饰天生的缺陷。

17 decomposed   

已分解的，已腐烂的

参考例句：

• A liquid is decomposed when an electric current passes through it. 当电流通过时，液体就分解。
• Water can be resolved [decomposed] into hydrogen and oxygen. 水可分解为氢和氧。

18 decayed   

a.腐败的，被蛀的

参考例句：

• New Shoreham, now sadly decayed, has barely 100 inhabitants. 如今已经衰落的新肖勒姆仅有100 名居民，很令人伤感。
• The place stank of decayed fish. 那地方有烂鱼的臭味。