为什么回收发泡聚苯乙烯和泡沫塑料如此困难？ | 全球废弃物 | Business Insider：英语精读讲义

What people refer to as Styrofoam is usually expanded polystyrene foam. 語法

人们口中的Styrofoam，通常其实是膨胀聚苯乙烯泡沫。

Many think it can't be recycled, but it can. 語法

很多人以为它无法回收，但其实可以。

That's likely because less than 1% of it gets recycled

之所以会有这种误解，可能是因为它的回收率还不到1%，

even though we make enough to fill more than 700 Empire State Buildings every year. 講解

尽管我们每年生产的量足以填满700多座帝国大厦。

And now one company has found a way to turn all this trash into treasure 習語

如今，一家公司找到了把这些垃圾变废为宝的方法，

or rather photo frames. 表達脈絡

更准确地说，是把它们变成相框。

But why aren't more companies doing this? 表達脈絡

但为什么没有更多公司这样做呢？

We went to Mexico City to find out.

我们前往墨西哥城一探究竟。

New materials countless in their numbers and varieties,

数量和种类都不计其数的新材料，

have been created.

被创造了出来。

Styrofoam is actually a brand developed by the Dow Chemical Company 文化背景

Styrofoam其实是陶氏化学公司开发的一个品牌，

and now owned by DuPont.

如今归杜邦所有。

It only refers to a kind of plastic used in construction and insulation.

它只指一种用于建筑和保温的塑料。

There's actually no such thing as a Styrofoam cup. 短語搭配

严格来说，根本没有所谓的“Styrofoam杯”。

Instead, it's expanded polystyrene foam

那其实是膨胀聚苯乙烯泡沫，

that is a kind of plastic scientists first created in the 1940s.

一种由科学家在20世纪40年代首次制成的塑料。

Today, it's estimated that this kind of foam takes up about 30% of the world's landfills. 講解

据估计，如今这种泡沫约占全球垃圾填埋场空间的30%。

A company called Rennueva has found a way to make money recycling this cheap product.

一家名为Rennueva的公司找到了靠回收这种廉价产品赚钱的方法。

Corporations pay Rennueva to handle their polystyrene waste

企业付费请Rennueva处理其聚苯乙烯废料，

and regular people can drop off their own at the company's facility. 短語動詞

普通人也可以把自己的废料送到该公司的处理设施。

It also hosts collection efforts like this one at a local university.

它还会举办回收活动，比如当地一所大学里的这场活动。

All told, Héctor and his team handle 16 metric tons of plastic per week. 表達脈絡

Héctor和他的团队每周总共处理16吨塑料。

Workers first grind the material to make it easier to manage.

工人先把材料粉碎，使其更易于处理。

Then they apply heat and pressure in a process called densification,

接着，他们通过一种名为“致密化”的工艺对材料加热加压，

which squeezes out excess air,

挤出多余的空气，

leaving reusable plastic behind. 語法

留下可重复利用的塑料。

In terms of size,

从体积来看，

the ratio of pre-densified foam to post-densified foam 語法

致密化前后的泡沫体积比

is about 90 to 1.

约为90比1。

A machine heats the material and molds it into these spaghetti-looking strips.

机器会加热材料，并把它塑造成这些意大利面般的长条。

The company uses a chemical that's a bit like antifreeze 短語搭配

公司使用一种有点像防冻液的化学品

to cool the strips

来冷却这些长条，

and finally a machine dices them into rice-sized pellets. 用詞

最后再由机器把它们切成米粒大小的颗粒。

Rennueva sells these pellets to companies like Marcos y Marcos,

Rennueva把这些颗粒卖给Marcos y Marcos等公司，

which turns them into frames.

后者用它们制作相框。

The process is actually pretty similar to Rennueva's.

这套工艺其实和Rennueva的很相似。

You heat the pellets,

先加热颗粒，

mold them,

将其塑形，

and then assemble and decorate the frames accordingly.

然后再组装并装饰相框。

This factory can process 6 tons of raw material per day

这家工厂每天可处理6吨原材料，

and has actually recycled some of its own old frames.

甚至还回收过自己生产的旧相框。

Different companies use Rennueva's pellets to make heels for shoes

其他公司会用Rennueva的颗粒制作鞋跟，

and to make more foam.

也会用它们生产更多泡沫。

Rennueva is working on making plates and cutlery, 語法

Rennueva正在尝试制造餐盘和餐具，

but first it needs to make sure the recycled plastic is safe for food.

但首先需要确保这种再生塑料适合食品用途。

That's because polystyrene foam could pose some health risks. 短語搭配

这是因为聚苯乙烯泡沫可能带来一些健康风险。

Scientists have found that foam containers are generally safe to eat off of, 用詞

科学家发现，一般来说，使用泡沫容器进食是安全的，

but some chemicals can transfer into your food or drink

但其中一些化学物质可能会转移到食物或饮料中，

and they could be harmful over a long period of time.

长期下来可能对人体有害。

And breathing in foam particulates is dangerous. 語法

而吸入泡沫微粒也很危险。

The International Agency for Research on Cancer says one of the main components of polystyrene is a probable carcinogen,

国际癌症研究机构称，聚苯乙烯的一种主要成分很可能致癌，

though the EPA hasn't classified it as such. 用詞

不过EPA尚未将其归为致癌物。

Héctor and his team are realistic.

Héctor和他的团队很务实。

They know this kind of plastic isn't going anywhere soon. 習語

他们知道，这种塑料短期内不会消失。

So their solution to waste relies on a circular economy, 文化背景

因此，他们解决废物问题的方案依靠循环经济：

reduce trash by reusing it.

通过重复利用来减少垃圾。

distribuidores, usuarios y recicladores.

经销商、用户和回收商。

Most recycling facilities don't handle polystyrene foam

大多数回收设施都不处理聚苯乙烯泡沫，

and as a result many people simply throw the product away. 講解

因此很多人干脆把它扔掉。

Rennueva has outreach programs to let people know the product can be recycled.

Rennueva开展宣传项目，让人们知道这种产品可以回收。

The company says that it now recycles 5% of the polystyrene foam used in Mexico City, 表達脈絡

该公司称，目前它回收处理墨西哥城所用聚苯乙烯泡沫的5%，

but we were unable to independently verify that fact.

但我们无法独立核实这一说法。

para que todos sepan que el material se recicla

让所有人都知道这种材料可以回收。

Rennueva has recycled 1,200 metric tons of foam since its founding in 2014, 語法

自2014年成立以来，Rennueva已回收1200吨泡沫，

a small fraction of the amount produced worldwide every year. 短語搭配

但这只占全球每年产量的一小部分。

That helps explain why everyone isn't copying the Rennueva model.

这也解释了为什么并非所有人都在照搬Rennueva的模式。

Most polystyrene products are cheap in part 短語搭配

大多数聚苯乙烯制品之所以便宜，部分原因是

because more than 90% of them is just air.

其体积的90%以上都只是空气。

That makes them very light,

这使它们非常轻，

but also means you need a lot to make recycling profitable. 語法

但也意味着需要收集很大的量，回收才有利可图。

They're also often covered in food waste and can break apart really easily, 短語動詞

它们也常沾满食物残渣，而且很容易碎裂，

which makes them tough to process. 語法

因此很难处理。

There are a few similar facilities that run on the Rennueva model,

有少数类似的设施采用Rennueva模式运营，

like this one in China,

比如中国的这家工厂，

or the Canadian company Styro-Go,

还有加拿大公司Styro-Go，

which uses mobile trucks to densify polystyrene foam on site. 用詞

它利用移动处理车在现场对聚苯乙烯泡沫进行致密化处理。

But many people around the world are pushing to simply end the use of foam

但世界各地有很多人主张彻底停止使用这种泡沫，

rather than figure out how to recycle it. 講解

而不是设法回收它。

The European Union,

欧盟、

China,

中国、

Costa Rica,

哥斯达黎加，

and US states like New York and Colorado

以及纽约州和科罗拉多州等美国州

have all announced or implemented bans on single-use plastics like polystyrene foam. 短語搭配

都已宣布或实施针对聚苯乙烯泡沫等一次性塑料的禁令。

Mexico City banned single-use plastic starting in 2021,

墨西哥城从2021年起禁用一次性塑料，

but that doesn't include polystyrene foam.

但聚苯乙烯泡沫并不在禁令范围内。

So the product is everywhere and it fuels the Central de Abasto, 習語

所以，这种产品随处可见，也支撑着Central de Abasto的运转，

one of Mexico City's largest wholesale food markets.

墨西哥城最大的食品批发市场之一。

Food vendors like Irene depend on that product's low price.

Irene这样的食品摊贩依赖这种产品的低廉价格。

todo todo es mucho más económico.

所有东西，所有东西都便宜得多。

El biodegradable se disparan los precios.

一换成可生物降解产品，价格就会飙升。

That's why plastic bans don't always have the intended effects. 語法

这就是塑料禁令不一定总能达到预期效果的原因。

hay un impacto ambiental un poco eh grave

这会造成比较，呃，严重的环境影响，

porque este impacto lo que hace es que la ley no va enfocada al consumo,

因为这里的问题在于，法律关注的不是消费，

va enfocada a la sustitución de la mercancía.

而是用其他商品来替代。

Cuando tú sustituyes una mercancía es ya no consumo plástico,

当你用一种商品替代另一种时，你会说：“我不再使用塑料，

pero ahora consumo papel.

但现在改用纸了。”

This supports Rennueva's main idea, 表達脈絡

这印证了Rennueva的核心理念：

that single-use plastic should be recycled.

一次性塑料应该回收利用。

According to Héctor,

Héctor认为，

the solution to all the plastic sitting in our landfills 表達脈絡

要解决填埋场里堆积的所有塑料，

is to use the plastic sitting in our landfills.

就要利用填埋场里现有的塑料。

Any environmental action that doesn't make economic sense isn't realistic. 短語搭配

任何不具备经济可行性的环保行动都是不现实的。