VOA常速英语2014--乌干达和哥伦比亚把塑料垃圾变废为宝

 

Uganda, Colombia Find Alternative to Plastic Waste 乌干达和哥伦比亚把塑料垃圾变废为宝

WASHINGTON— 

People around the world use disposable plastic containers for water, food and other content because of their practicality and light weight. But if not discarded properly, these plastics can litter populated areas, pollute water systems and create environmental damage. Plastic waste is a real problem in many poor countries. An African and a South American country have turned the menace into an advantage.

The water drainage system in Uganda's capital, Kampala, is providing a livelihood¹ for hundreds of people who collect carelessly thrown away trash.

David Kibande manages about 10 workers who collect up to 10 tons of plastic waste a week, and sell it for the equivalent of about seven U.S. cents per kilogram. Kibande said the people he supervises would otherwise be jobless. Now, they make a living while helping² to clean up the city.

More than half of the trash in Uganda's capital is left uncollected by understaffed and underfunded municipal services. Much of it ends up in drainage channels, natural water courses, streets and undeveloped plots. Environment authorities say that about 600 tons of plastic are discarded in Kampala every day.

Private companies, such as the Plastic Recycling Institute (PRI), run by South African beverage³ company SABMiller, have stepped in to help reduce the waste by employing people to collect plastic waste for recycling. The Kampala plant recycles 650 kilograms of plastic per hour and more than 3 million kilograms annually⁴, which means that much less ends up in Uganda's environment.

"I would say it's working. If… there were no recycling plants that means all the plastics we are collecting right now would be in the rivers and streets,” said Jean-Baptiste Bitamazire, a PRI plant manager.

The plastics are sorted, washed and processed for the manufacturing of other plastic products, including floor tiles and roof slates⁵.

A continent away, a private initiative called "Organizmo" is teaching students how to mix plastic bottles with sand, clay and straw to build sustainable homes in central Colombia.

"If we can understand how we discard and consume and incorporate that into the cycles that surround us, that can lead to certain practices of recycling, reuse, of knowledge of the land," said Ana Maria Gutierrez, director and founder⁶ of Organizmo.

Students from Colombia and other countries learn how to use waste and natural material to build "green" farm houses, which include rain water treatment systems and composting toilets.

Lucia Cano, an architect from Spain, said she came to learn how to include care of the environment in her profession. 

"Forty percent of carbon emissions⁷ come from construction, of construction all over the world. So if we architects want to build, we must consider potential harm to our generations, and that we could destroy Mother Nature," said Cano.

Environmentalists often point out that conserving⁸ Nature and its resources need not be expensive.  Mostly, it just takes initiative and persistence⁹ to develop good habits.

1 livelihood   

n.生计，谋生之道

参考例句：

• Appropriate arrangements will be made for their work and livelihood.他们的工作和生活会得到妥善安排。
• My father gained a bare livelihood of family by his own hands.父亲靠自己的双手勉强维持家计。

2 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

3 beverage   

n.(水，酒等之外的)饮料

参考例句：

• The beverage is often colored with caramel.这种饮料常用焦糖染色。
• Beer is a beverage of the remotest time.啤酒是一种最古老的饮料。

4 annually   

adv.一年一次，每年

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。

5 slates   

（旧时学生用以写字的）石板( slate的名词复数 )； 板岩； 石板瓦； 石板色

参考例句：

• The contract specifies red tiles, not slates, for the roof. 合同规定屋顶用红瓦，并非石板瓦。
• They roofed the house with slates. 他们用石板瓦做屋顶。

6 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

7 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

8 conserving   

v.保护，保藏，保存( conserve的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Contour planning with or without terracing is effective in conserving both soil and moisture. 顺等高线栽植，无论做或不做梯田对于保持水土都能有效。 来自辞典例句
• Economic savings, consistent with a conserving society and the public philosophy. 经济节约，符合创建节约型社会的公共理念。 来自互联网

9 persistence   

n.坚持，持续，存留

参考例句：

• The persistence of a cough in his daughter puzzled him.他女儿持续的咳嗽把他难住了。
• He achieved success through dogged persistence.他靠着坚持不懈取得了成功。